Goodnight Moon
by The Shinigumi
Summary: Light and L grow closer in spite of themselves during their time chained together, but what will happen when Light regains his memories...? Complete, with WiP sequel. L/Light.
1. Goodnight Moon

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Goodnight Moon

Rating: PG

Pairing: L / Light

Warning(s): I wrote this while under the influence of a severe cold and meds. Just sayin'. Ooh, additional warnings: Contains spoilers for manga 1 - some-number-lower-than-7 but still including the Yotsuba arc, and however that relates to the anime. I have this already almost complete on AFF, but decided y'all might want to read, too. In total, it's nine chapters and the epilogue is just being started.

EDIT 5/10/2011 : It's been about three years since I finished Goodnight Moon and rereading it I realized there were a few typos... not to mention I didn't comprehend this site's formatting at first. I never had a beta reader so with the perspective of a few years I'll go through and tweak a few things. Honestly I'm surprised anyone stayed with me! For those just joining me, this "arc" of the fanfic is complete, and the sequel is Tear You Apart, currently in-progress and finally being worked on again after a quite long hiatus. I don't like how abruptly the fic begins but I really had written it with the original idea of it being a one-shot for my own cold-addled amusement, so for that it's not horrible.

* * *

Light considered himself a fairly superior individual. He had always been above annoyance at the imperfect habits of lesser beings, and even as a young child he'd prided himself on his self-control.

Because of this, it was just shy of three a.m. when he finally broke.

"L." With a slight shock, Light realized that his control had slipped to the point of allowing real emotion to enter his tone. He'd intended to chastise his eccentric partner of necessity and then go peacefully to sleep. After all, they'd had a variation of this battle every night since Light had been allowed to leave the observation cell. Really, he should be used to it by now- was Ryuuzaki ignoring him?

Taking a breath, Light furrowed his brows and tried again, this time keeping his voice a carefully projected combination of smoothly prompting with just a dash of mild reproach. "L, I know you can hear me."

For a brief reprieve, the genius detective slowed his incessant typing. An instant later, however, it resumed. "Yes, Kira-kun?"

Light's jaw clenched. Forcing calm into his voice, however, he attempted a flat smile. "That's not fair, L. We're alone in the room, and you don't really think anyone is spying on us- you're the only one who observes the monitors in your suite." Feeling L's gaze slide to his back, as he'd curled on his side to get away from the sound of fingers upon keys, Light frowned slightly. "...You and Watari, then. Either way, we're the only ones in here- I should be able to risk calling you L. If you've been trying to hide your identity from Watari you've done a poor job of it," he joked, throwing a disarming smile over his shoulder. As expected, he met a pair of pitch-dark eyes. Those eyes blinked- in surprise at being caught?- and returned to the screen.

L's typing hadn't even paused.

LxLxL

"...Following your logic, Light-kun, you no longer need to keep up your own facade. If you may call me L in our room, I may call you Kira-kun." Keeping his tone bland, L watched Light on his notebook screen, though the four camera angles weren't needed to feel the annoyance radiating from the normally controlled brunet.

Admirably, Light still kept his tone only mildly condescending when he replied. "Come now, Ryuuzaki. That doesn't follow my logic at all. You are, at best, less than one percent convinced that I'm Kira, while I know for certain that you are L."

Nibbling his thumb consideringly as he continued to type quickly with his left hand, Ryuuzaki tilted his head. "...So we are arguing percentages, Kira-kun?" Adding a slight lilt to his voice as he baited Light, Ryuuzaki turned his head to stare once more at the younger man. "You yourself are not one-hundred percent positive that you are not Kira. You submitted yourself to my observation-"

"I already explained that!" Light burst out, immediately closing his mouth and tensing at the realization that Ryuuzaki had just won a point. Ryuuzaki felt a corner of his mouth quirk, but easily resisted the faint urge to smile. Though Light's control was admirably strong, it couldn't come close to the iron will of L.

"Of course," Ryuuzaki agreed without intonation, clearly doubtful. "You forgot your time as Kira while you stayed in the cell."

"I was never Kira," Light returned sharply. "The stress of your conviction that I was is what drove me to believing I might be. It's a ridiculous idea, Kira is obviously aware of his own actions."

"...I also believe that Kira is aware of his actions," Ryuuzaki agreed quietly. At Light's quick glance, he widened his eyes slightly.

Frowning, Light looked away again, glaring at the wall in the moonlight. "...At least you stopped typing."

Smiling faintly at Light's way of admitting their argument had become circular and in L's favor, L made his voice its most innocent. "I wasn't aware it was bothering Light-kun. Light-kun has such perfect control, to have hidden his annoyance so well."

Giving a short, sharp and unpleasant laugh, Light ran his hand through his hair. "Fine, you win, Ryuuzaki. Now turn off your notebook before I kick it off in my sleep."

"..." Believing Light might, L reluctantly turned his notebook off. "This isn't your admission that you are Kira?" he asked, just to see how badly Light would react.

Light turned his glare on Ryuuzaki, and the detective blinked thoughtfully, realizing that the percentage of looks containing that level of malevolence had declined markedly since Light's internment in the cell.

"Of course it isn't. It was my admission that insisting my memory loss had nothing to do with Kira is impossible to argue with someone as stubbornly hard-headed as you, who would merely continue to insist that I was either fully aware of my actions as Kira and forgot them or retained my memory and kept up a flawless act in spite of being chained to you constantly-" Light took a breath. "-As you well know." Ryuuzaki assumed it was only Light's superiority that kept him from adding more childish insults. He resisted another smile.

"Ah, I misunderstood," Ryuuzaki commented blankly instead. He closed the cover of his notebook and set it aside, remaining in his usual crouch with his hands loosely on his knees.

"..." Light frowned, turning to look at Ryuuzaki. "Has anyone ever told you that you're impossible to like? I'm a friendly, sociable person that everyone loves and admires. I find it difficult to believe that even if you tried, you could make others think you were anything but frustrating and bizarrely eccentric."

Ryuuzaki blinked, turning that in his mind. "...Does Light-kun truly like the people who 'love and admire' him, or does he merely remain pleasant and amicable to keep those around him who may be useless from seeing who he really is?"

Light gave an uncomfortable laugh. "You make me sound like a sociopath, or a split personality," he replied. "Someone who could keep up an act like that around the people that love him really could be Kira."

"Yes..." Ryuuzaki curled his toes together, then looked away. "Goodnight, Light."

Not entirely sure he'd won that argument, Light studied Ryuuzaki, then closed his eyes firmly and pulled the cover more securely around himself. "Goodnight... L."

Letting a small smile curve his mouth, Ryuuzaki waited patiently until the breathing pattern of his roommate told him the younger genius had finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

Placing one hand carefully on the bed between them, Ryuuzaki leaned over Light, close enough for the strands of his hair to curl on Light's cheek. Close enough to take in the scent of soap and anal-retentive fastidiousness of Light's skin. "Goodnight, Kira," he murmured into the shell of the sleeping man's ear. "I look forward to our arguments tomorrow."

Twitching in his sleep, Light made to brush the ticklish sensation away with one hand, but L had already returned to his side of the bed.

* * *

Whoo! It's been around six years since I last wrote fanfiction, I think. It's still surprisingly fun!

Title is based on the song Goodnight Moon by Shivaree (featured on the Kill Bill soundtrack), and also on a play of words (the kanji for Light's name being Moon). I love puns and wordplay. It makes me ridiculously pleased. This only took about an hour and a half so... Not too shabby. Comments are appreciated, as always.


	2. Mindgames

Chapter Two: Mindgames

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Rating: PG

Pairing: L / Light

Warning(s): Contains spoilers for manga 1 - some-number-lower-than-7 but still including the Yotsuba arc, and however that relates to the anime.

* * *

Pulled into the command center by Ryuuzaki's shuffling, determined stride, Light stifled a yawn. He knew that on the surface he appeared nothing less than bright-eyed and alert, ready for whatever the day might bring.

In fact, Light assured himself confidently, he was- after all, he'd become used to getting less sleep since becoming chained to Ryuuzaki. Any slips he may have had the previous night were just water under the very high bridge of his own abilities.

Heading automatically for the row of computers, Light was startled to find the chain drawn taut between himself and Ryuuzaki. He looked to the other man for an explanation as to why the detective had stopped by the couches against the far wall.

Rather than meeting Light's eyes for one of their moments of sub-verbal understanding, Ryuuzaki was standing still, hands shoved in his pockets as always as he slouched with his hair over his eyes. "Matsuda-san, Mogi-san."

Just as surprised, the two detectives glanced at each other before standing and striding over. Aizawa, from his post at the terminals, looked over with a frown at being excluded.

"Do Matsuda-san and Mogi-san know the rules of a game called poker...?" Ryuuzaki asked, correctly assuming that Light would have at least a general knowledge of the game.

Bemused, Mogi and Matsuda agreed, and Light's brows drew together.

"...As a child, my mentor taught me a memory game following the rules of poker. This information will not assist you in determining my identity," Ryuuzaki commented offhandedly, slanting a glance at Light through his bangs. "If Light-kun and the rest of you agree, I would like to play with you."

"But- shouldn't we be working on the case...?" Matsuda offered hesitantly, while Mogi nodded firm agreement.

Ryuuzaki lifted one foot to scratch the opposite ankle. "Aizawa-san will inform us if any new information arises," he asserted easily.

"That's irresponsible," Light protested, irritation needling at him. "We shouldn't leave Aizawa-san to work alone while we play on one of your whims."

"...That is true, but this is not my whim, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki dissented. "Light-kun pointed out last night that my methods and personality are often eccentric and difficult to appreciate." Light tightened his lips, but resisted the urge to quote what he'd actually told the older man. "I realized that this could cause trouble within our group, when we need trust and the ability to work together smoothly."

"Because nothing shows group solidarity like regularly accusing one of the members of being a homicidal sociopath," Light muttered at Ryuuzaki, drifting closer to ease the discomfort of the chain and to allow himself to be heard by only the other genius. He noticed the corner of Ryuuzaki's mouth twitch almost too faintly for the eye to see, and realized with surprise that he'd made the older man smile.

Apparently ignoring the comment, Ryuuzaki lifted his head enough to overtly study the detectives while keeping Light in his peripheral vision. "Do you agree to play?"

"Well- yeah, I'm curious, but- we don't have cards..." Matsuda protested uncertainly.

"I'm sure Watari has a set," Light commented, though he wondered how that could help with memory.

"...Light-kun assumes wrongly," Ryuuzaki murmured, turning his full gaze on Light for an instant before heading to the couch assuredly. Following to avoid being pulled, Light frowned again. "I am the deck, and the dealer. I will tell each of you the cards you receive, and you will have the responsibility of keeping track. If you lose your place, you may ask me."

"But- wouldn't everyone hear our cards?" Matsuda queried.

"Would you be able to keep track of everyone else's hand?" Light chuckled. "I think you should concentrate on your own first." In spite of himself, he was intrigued by the idea.

"I will, of course, keep the hands confidential. Only the holder will hear me," Ryuuzaki contradicted, hopping to a perch on one end of the couch. Choosing the seat beside him, Light placed himself in a careful pose of collected ease, while Matsuda came to rest nervously on the couch opposite Light. Mogi settled onto the other side of Matsuda's couch much like a boulder lowered carefully by a crane.

"There is of course the problem of your own integrity," Light observed, smiling to make the insult less obvious to the others in the room.

"Light-kun doubts my honesty?" Ryuuzaki asked, turning his head slightly toward the brunet. "I will deal the cards purely randomly, picking ones not yet used. If a reshuffle is required, I also have the ability to reorder the list in my mind. There aren't so many cards in a deck, Light-kun," he reminded.

"I don't know, it impresses me!" Matsuda laughed, rubbing his neck. "I don't even know if I can keep track of my hand!" Mogi had a look of intense concentration as he watched the scene.

"Still, we only have your word that you won't deal a winning hand to someone..." Light mused.

"Light-kun is worried that he will lose," Ryuuzaki clarified, nodding agreement.

Feeling his smile tighten, Light glared at Ryuuzaki, caught himself and returned his expression to one of skepticism. "Of course not, but relying only on you..."

"I believe we've wasted enough time," Ryuuzaki interrupted. "If Light-kun does not trust me, he may choose not to play."

Gritting his teeth, Light shrugged. "I suppose it doesn't matter, anyway. Deal."

LxLxL

Half an hour later, Chief Yagami entered the command center to the strange sight of the bulk of his investigative force gathered on a set of couches. Matsuda and Mogi held their hands before themselves as though holding some sort of imaginary books, and even Light seemed to be focusing hard in spite of his casual pose. Ryuuzaki was curled up on the couch, apparently using all of his significant powers of concentration in creating a game of chocolate Jenga on the coffee table.

Bewildered, the chief walked closer. "What is the meaning of this...?"

Jumping, Matsuda looked up at his chief with an embarrassed smile. "We're playing Invisible Poker!" he exclaimed. "You can only play it with a genius for your dealer." Mogi, unruffled, nodded.

"Ryuuzaki is attempting to be more friendly so we can get along better as a group," Light explained wryly, looking up at his father as though to show his doubts of the statement.

"...Is this really necessary, Ryuuzaki?" Chief Yagami asked with a faint frown.

"I believe it is," Ryuuzaki stated, turning his head to stare at the chief with his unsettlingly dark eyes. Privately, Chief Yagami was embarrassed to find himself occasionally comparing the genius detective to a very flexible zombie from an American film.

"Well... Carry on, then," the chief allowed, obviously not knowing quite how to handle this situation.

"Hit me," Light murmured, and Ryuuzaki leaned over to whisper disturbingly close to his son's ear. Light nodded once and then made a show of giving a slight yawn. Sometimes, the chief reflected with a deep bafflement, genius was a very odd thing. He sent a silent prayer of thanks that his own son lacked the stranger traits of the famous detective.

"I- uh, Ryuuzaki-san..." Matsuda began sheepishly.

"Matsuda-san?" Ryuuzaki inquired.

"I forgot my cards again," Matsuda stated, hanging his head in shame. Chief Yagami found himself pitying the man before he reminded himself that all of his detectives were a vital asset to his team, and Matsuda was no less than the others. No less at all.

Ryuuzaki nodded, shuffling over to Matsuda to whisper his hand to him, and the game continued.

LxLxL

After winning two out of their three games- Mogi had unexpectedly won the last- Light declared that they'd spent enough time working on group dynamics and had best return to the Kira case. L had agreed without complaint, and only Matsuda appeared disappointed as the detectives and Light returned to their work.

LxLxL

As L re-secured the handcuff to Light's wrist after allowing him to change into clean night clothes under his supervision, Light adjusted the handcuff in a casual habit. The cuff, kept so close to his skin, always retained the warmth of his body and in truth he no longer noticed the slight weight of the chain unless L was being a hindrance- or one of the colder chain links brushed him in his sleep.

The fidget was useful, though, in giving him a moment to stall before they would have to climb into bed. This wasn't a conversation Light felt like having while lying in the dark with the unusual man.

"After I fell asleep..." Light murmured musingly. L's slow shuffle to the bed- holding his damned notebook, Light noticed with tired disgust- immediately stilled. This was an interesting reaction, and Light focused sharply on the dark-haired detective. Was there, perhaps, something he had missed in his own statement? Discarding the idea as unlikely and not particularly useful at the moment, Light continued with his original line of reasoning. "I continued to think upon your accusations on the quality of my character. The main question that comes to mind, Ryuuzaki, is: if you believe me to be some sort of amoral monster capable of using the emotions of the people around me so easily, what does that make you, that you still consider me to be your only friend?" Lifting his chin slightly in challenge, Light kept his expression clear, wondering how Ryuuzaki would escape that trap.

Ryuuzaki's shoulders slumped briefly, as though a blow he'd expected had failed to land. Rolling his head to fix Light with his dark stare, he finally blinked. "...Light-kun believes he makes a good point," he observed. "But he has also already claimed that I am 'frustratingly bizarre and eccentric'. Obviously, that sort of person would find making friends difficult... And if Light-kun is Kira, then his ability to fool even those who know him well makes him an exceptionable person. That sort of person would not be bad to befriend, if you did not trust them..." The lanky man lifted his thumb to his lips and bit it gently in a thoughtful way. "...And I do not fool myself into believing that Light-kun returns my regard."

"..." Light frowned, then snorted. They were both aware that if Light had really wanted to pretend to be the other's friend he had had many opportunities. "You're very good at turning compliments into back-handed accusations," he praised instead, voice dry. "I almost believed you'd manage to reply without comparing me to Kira. I don't know why I continue to expect you to see reason..."

Dropping his hand, Ryuuzaki turned toward the bed and continued his interrupted journey, apparently considering the conversation no longer worth his full attention. Light stepped to the edge of the bed, familiar enough with Ryuuzaki's habits to know the other man would scramble across the bed to his side with alarming alacrity, apparently uncomfortable with remaining in a vulnerable crawl for more than a second. Once in his usual hunched up position the detective arranged the notebook on the covers and opened it, apparently no longer remembering the other human in the room.

Giving up on a response, Light finally relented, slipping beneath the covers on his own side of the bed and arranging himself in a relaxed manner on his back.

"...Does Light-kun deny even the slightest possibility that he is Kira, then?"

Tensing but not permitting himself to jump, Light still drew his brows together slightly. He forced himself to respond as though the other hadn't managed to startle him. "Of course. We determined that Kira would be self-aware, and I am only aware of myself as Light Yagami." Opening his eyes, he made his voice logical and persuasive, the candy-coated tone he used when convincing people they actually wanted to believe his viewpoint- that it was not only sensible, but desirable. "If you were Kira, you would know, wouldn't you- L?"

LxLxL

Waiting for his notebook to boot up, Ryuuzaki remained crouched above the covers. Lacking his cameras, he had to turn his head slightly to study his subject. He recognized Light's speaking tactic for what it was, but still felt some admiration for the boy's prideful conviction that it would work on the older detective. "Does Light-kun believe that I am Kira?"

Light made a sound that was somehow the condensation of a quietly mocking laugh. "That isn't the point, Ryuuzaki. We're arguing hypothetically."

"Of course..." Ryuuzaki shifted, hands tightening briefly on his knees. "...I am certain that I am not Kira. Several criminals have been murdered before they were brought to my awareness, and the pattern of the original Kira killings is not to my personality. As Light-kun pointed out, only an idealistic mind, most likely young, would kill with the misguided intention to create a better world."

There was silence for a moment, and Ryuuzaki's notebook finished loading in that time. The detective immediately logged into the room's cameras, closing one in on Light's face. Part of his mind catalogued the fact that the boy seemed younger in moonlight, and the illogical thought that a serial killer with the ability to kill through some sort of psychic ability shouldn't appear so... serene.

"L..." Light's voice drifted into the room, quiet and somehow closer than it should be. Deciding not to argue with the name for the moment, Ryuuzaki let his silence answer for him. Understanding that he had the dark-haired man's attention, Light continued in a soft voice, almost as though to himself. "You said the pattern wasn't to your personality. If you had Kira's powers, who would you kill?"

For nearly a minute, Ryuuzaki didn't respond as he considered the question. He had, of course, asked it of himself before- but discussing something so close to his own way of looking at the world seemed questionable when dealing with his prime suspect. "...That could be taken as a commendation of Kira's actions."

"Hmm..." Seeming affected by the close air of the room and the late hour, Light still spoke in a way that seemed oddly personal for the normally close-handed boy. Or perhaps he was just nearer to sleep than his words would suggest... "But you kill people, too. Through your actions, you've solved many crimes, and in several of those cases you've pushed for the death penalty. Therefore, through your direct actions you helped others to die, who would otherwise have lived. In a way... you needed their identities before you could kill them. You may not kill as quickly as Kira, but you're still an instrument of... death." For an instant, Ryuuzaki had expected Light to say 'justice' instead, but either the boy had remembered himself or Ryuuzaki had merely been jumping to a conclusion based on his analysis of Kira.

"...Yagami-kun makes a good argument for Kira," Ryuuzaki praised, realizing a moment later that he'd been chewing his thumb again. He dismissed this as unimportant. "Now Kira seems equal with the police, only with a more consistent death penalty. But, Yagami-kun... in my situation, the criminals are most certainly guilty. All evidence has been examined by myself, and justice has been agreed upon by all involved, and delivered legally. Does Yagami-kun really believe that all those convicted of a crime are truly guilty of it...? Kira allows no trial, no analysis of evidence. I wonder how many murderers went free due to a mistaken identity..." He allowed his voice to trail off innocently, but kept his gaze fixed fiercely on Light's shadowed form.

LxLxL

For an instant, Light felt an offended fury grip him. Shaken by the unexpectedness of that, Light brushed the feeling off with some confusion and attributed the emotion to his indignation at Ryuuzaki childishly turning his words, so casually put to disarm the detective into honesty, into a supposed justification of Kira's actions. "I can't know Kira's reasoning, L," he replied evenly, his anger apparent but kept to mere frustration in his tone. "Obviously, I agree that his actions were rash- even the current Kira doesn't give the justice system proper time to determine guilt."

"Of course..."

Light frowned, opening his eyes to look at Ryuuzaki. "Are you really disappointed? You sound as if you expected something different."

"Kira is a very selfish person. There was a thirty percent possibility that Kira would be unable to resist a direct challenge to his motives, and would show obvious distress." The tactless explanation caused Light to open his mouth slightly in shock.

"You said that just to see how badly it would annoy me?" Light clarified. Ryuuzaki blinked in agreement, apparently seeing nothing wrong with this. Eyes narrowing, the younger man sat up, kneeling with one hand on the bed for balance and jerking Ryuuzaki closer with his free hand fisted around the detective's collar. "If you try that again, I'll show you how annoyed I can really get. Stop accusing me of being Kira just for your own perverted amusement! We're working together to find Kira. Do you know what that means?" he hissed, aware that his control was slipping but ignoring it as he closed the slight distance between them by inches. Ryuuzaki merely studied Light with slightly wide eyes, hands still on his own knees.

"Yagami-kun's enthusiasm in catching the murderer has never been questioned," Ryuuzaki replied evenly, tone slightly flatter than normal. "May I have my shirt back now?"

"No!" Light burst out. "Not until you understand what I'm trying to tell you. I. Am. Not. Kira. I don't kill people, I don't have delusions of godhood, I'm not that damn naive!" Pushing Ryuuzaki back with disgust and noticing with some disgruntlement that the other man merely swayed and didn't fall, he dropped heavily back to his side of the bed with his back to Ryuuzaki. "Now turn your notebook off and sleep like a human!"

"...I was not aware that Light-kun believed I wasn't human-"

"Not another word, Ryuuzaki," Light growled.

LxLxL

That was easier said than done. Light's reaction to Ryuuzaki's taunt had certainly been informative, but Ryuuzaki knew that the eight hours Light would prefer to sleep would be nearly unendurable without the notebook. Deciding he could just be more quiet than normal, Ryuuzaki waited until Light's breathing evened into sleep before beginning to type again.

He froze when a slender hand shot from the covers and gripped his wrist with alarming strength.

"I said to turn that off," Light asserted, voice cold and clipped.

"...Light-kun caught me," Ryuuzaki hazarded, blinking. "But wasting so many hours-"

"Ryuuzaki, I told you not to speak," Light reminded dangerously.

"..." Ryuuzaki studied him blankly, then turned his gaze back to the notebook and began typing with his free hand. Light dug in his nails.

So Ryuuzaki lifted his arm- with Light's hand still attached-

And bit him.

LxLxL

Yelping in surprise, Light released him, holding his injured hand close to his chest and watching Ryuuzaki with a look of complete disbelief. Ryuuzaki had time to swiftly close his notebook and move it from harm's way before Light's fist connected with his face. Flowing with the blow, he righted himself smoothly and turned the momentum into a kick aimed for Light's mid-section.

Light collapsed himself over Ryuuzaki's feet, tangling them with the blanket and taking advantage of the hindrance to grapple Ryuuzaki to the bed. There was an awkward pause as Light narrowed his eyes, trying to think how best to attack Ryuuzaki in his current position, but when he relaxed his grip minutely the detective kicked off the bed with his legs. Light abruptly found himself on his back in the same situation his adversary had just vacated, but with the chain draped across his chest from Ryuuzaki's right wrist. Trying to pull free for another punch proved counter-productive as the dark-haired detective simply tightened his grip on Light's wrists and collapsed his weight on the younger boy.

Anger flaring at the feeling of being trapped, Light bared his teeth in a snarl and tensed against the useless urge to thrash. Preparing to smash his head into Ryuuzaki's if need be, Light focused on the other man- then widened his eyes.

A subtle shift of posture and something about the tilt of Ryuuzaki's head had alerted him, as black eyes that had held the determination of the fight now seemed unfocused, lids half-lowered and lips parted. His face lowered toward Light's as though in a trance.

"R- Ryuuzaki!" Light snapped, jerking his head to the side and staring at the wall as his heartrate jumped alarmingly. Probably due to the adrenaline, he felt his cheeks warm slightly.

"..." Ryuuzaki's weight left him suddenly as the detective rolled away, resuming his crouched position, though closer to Light's side of the bed now. "Did Light-kun want something?"

The flat tone of the detective's tone only served to further incriminate him in Light's mind. Gritting his teeth, Light sat up and edged away from the other man. "An explanation would be good. I know you're socially inept and inclined to misread situations, but this-"

"What situations does Light-kun refer to?" Ryuuzaki asked blandly, nibbling his thumb and not quite meeting Light's eyes, head tilted as though only mildly curious.

"That's not the point, Ryuuzaki. You almost-" Light sighed uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're not used to people, and maybe being chained to me for so long has put some sort of weird ideas into your head, but you can't go around kissing people. Especially not people who have to sleep in the same bed with you," he lectured irritably.

"I have no idea what Light-kun is referring to," Ryuuzaki asserted, keeping his eyes innocently wide. "I was merely fighting with him, and assumed the same position of entrapment that he had previously..."

"Please don't speak to me as if I lack basic powers of observation," Light demanded, shooting a dark look at the detective. "Even if you pretend not to understand, you're listening, so I'm warning you now that if you try what you just tried again, I'll break something of yours."

"..." Ryuuzaki gnawed his thumb in furious thought, then blinked. "...Light-kun is resorting to threats of physical violence. This-"

"So help me," Light spoke softly in a voice that most resembled a growl. "If you try to compare me to Kira right now, you're sleeping on the floor. I never said the threat was of physical damage to you, Ryuuzaki- I can just as easily break your notebook. And every other one Watari brings as a replacement." Ryuuzaki's eyelids slid closed, then opened again as he processed this and tried to determine a response. Light smirked tightly. "I'm glad you understand me now." Moving cautiously, he maneuvered himself around Ryuuzaki and retreated once more under the covers. This time, however, he lay on his side facing the dark-haired man warily. Ryuuzaki remained exactly as he was, though he'd turned his head to study Light and continued to chew the pad of his thumb. After a moment, a calculating look surfaced in Light's eyes, and the young man gave a slow, satisfied smile. "Actually, Ryuuzaki... L..." Ryuuzaki paused briefly in his fidgeting to give Light his full attention. "I don't think I'll let you off that easily. Since you tried to kiss me, you owe me- a piece of information about yourself. It doesn't have to be something that can give me a lead on your identity, but..."

Staring blankly at Light for a moment, Ryuuzaki lifted his mouth away from his thumb to turn his gaze to the ceiling. "...Information excuses unforgivable acts. So if I were to give Light-kun important information, I could kiss-"

"Ryuuzaki!" Light hissed, satisfaction gone in a rush of almost embarrassed annoyance. "I'm allowing you to repay me for the psychological discomfort you caused me, not giving you a way to claim favors from me. Misa was right, you really are a pervert..." he admitted in disgust, scowling.

"...Unfortunately, I can not allow that repayment. Giving Kira any information which could lead him to the identity of myself or others close to me would be an obvious error," Ryuuzaki finally stated, dropping his head back down and resting it on his knees while he watched Light intently.

"Then perhaps I should tell the others what you tried to do to me," Light offered, eyes reflecting his anger.

"Light-kun would not tell anyone his theories on my alleged actions," Ryuuzaki asserted easily. "He would find it... awkward. Besides," he added. "Light-kun has assured me that he does not use the feelings of those who like him."

"..." Frowning faintly at that, Light studied the chain between them in aggravation, too controlled to allow himself to fidget uncomfortably. The innocent object had now become just another point in the conspiracy of things forcing him to endure the eccentric man's company. Recognizing the utter illogic of that thought, Light dismissed it. Though he had realized that forced confinement with another man could lead to many different psychological reactions, he hadn't allowed attraction to be an option he had actually considered. After all, socially reclusive or not, Ryuuzaki was a genius, a famous detective- and Light was his only suspect for the role of supernatural serial killer. Sighing and rolling to his back, Light ran his hand through his hair until it hit the pillow, then rested it there. "You have seriously weird tastes- you still think I'm Kira, but you risk trying that with me? You can't even claim that as a test, because me killing you with my hands for trying to molest me doesn't prove anything."

"...Light-kun seems very fixed on his idea of what happened," Ryuuzaki commented.

"If you weren't guilty, you would have argued with me, Ryuuzaki," Light informed him shortly. "And you'd have done a better job than pretending ignorance and then trying to trade information for a make-out session."

"If Light-kun believes that to be so, I'm sure it is true." Though his tone clearly suggested otherwise, Ryuuzaki betrayed none of his thoughts with his expression. Instead, he finally shifted enough to pull the covers at least over his feet, not moving from his habitual crouch. "Remaining on this subject, however, decreases Light-kun's time to sleep. Since he normally becomes angry if I interrupt his rest, I must wonder if he wouldn't mind me using the notebook now-"

"Not a chance," Light interrupted immediately, turning away from Ryuuzaki and deciding to ignore him. "And I expect to be allowed access to the tapes of our room tomorrow, to make certain you don't try anything while I'm sleeping."

"...As Light-kun wishes," Ryuuzaki acquiesced.

"'Light-kun' does," Light agreed flatly. "Good night, Ryuuzaki."

LxLxL

Wriggling his toes a bit, Ryuuzaki closed his eyes, deciding to meditate if he could do nothing else. He wished wistfully that he could contact Watari to request a supply of sweets- there was no reason to let the capacity of his mind decrease just because he couldn't actively work on the Kira case. "Enjoy your rest, Light-kun." The younger man gave a snort in response, and Ryuuzaki retreated from the physical world, returning to the pure logic he was most familiar with and spending the next several hours trying to determine how he'd slipped in such a serious manner as to nearly kiss his fellow genius. By the time dawn's light broke into the room, he had analyzed every thought and action he'd had since meeting Light and was still no closer to his answer.

* * *

So! The second chapter, inspired by the idea of Genius Poker. At this point in the story, I had still had no idea where I was going with it. I really like writing Chief Yagami, though, I want him to pop up more if I add on to this. His live-action actor's the same as the chairman in Iron Chef though- isn't that fun? I keep picturing Light's dad biting into a pepper with a sense of deep and dramatic satisfaction now. It's a little distracting...

Though I hadn't written this chapter's title with a song in mind, I discovered that John Lennon has a decently appropriate song called Mind Games, and so decided post de facto to claim the title's from that.

Comment responses:

SonokoTao: Heh, it goes a little weird. Still, I'm glad you like it so far!

BonneNuit: I'm glad you were intrigued in spite of that first chapter! It took me several chapters in to get a plot and a hang of a direction, so honestly the first few sort of wander aimlessly. It's fairly embarrassing, but they were written as sort of connected one-shots at that point, so.


	3. Chained to You

Chapter Three: Chained to You

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Rating: PG

Pairing: L / Light

Warning(s): Contains spoilers for manga 1 - some-number-lower-than-7 but still including the Yotsuba arc, and however that relates to the anime.

* * *

Light awoke the next morning once more in control of his world. As with everything else, he neither dreamt nor slept as normal people did- instead, as though even his subconscious bowed to his strong and orderly will, his dreams served to help him sort through the day's events and replay key scenes and situations to allow him a better analysis without wasting daylight hours.

This was the first time that ability had ever annoyed him. As the layers of his sleeping thoughts and conjectures slowly fell away from him, Light opened his eyes with a faint frown. Having replayed the previous night's near-kiss approximately twenty times in his rest while his mind tried to decide if he'd had an appropriate response to it, what could be learned from the situation and how he might use it in the future, Light was irritably aware of the fact that Ryuuzaki's half-lidded and distracted expression was now imprinted forever in his mind.

On top of that, he could still feel the bastard's gaze on him. He'd grown used to it enough to sleep while aware of the constant surveillance, but waking every morning with the weight of Ryuuzaki's regard was another irritation he had to put up with. If it would help them to find Kira, however, it was worth it.

"See anything interesting?" he asked idly, keeping his own vision fixed to the ceiling but aware of Ryuuzaki in his peripheral vision. He could sense the detective blink, and repressed a smirk at startling the older man.

"Light-kun is always interesting," Ryuuzaki agreed cautiously. When Light turned his head to give the detective a wryly arched eyebrow, the other man wriggled his toes a bit and shifted minutely.

"Apparently so. I suppose the day I wake without you watching me is the day you say you finally believe I'm not Kira, right?" Light drawled. Closing his eyes and not really expecting a response, Light stretched leisurely, arms beneath his pillow and back arching from the bed as his head tilted. Sighing, he relaxed again and glanced to Ryuuzaki once more. Noting the detective's slightly widened eyes, Light furrowed his brows an instant before glaring. "Ryuuzaki. Watching me as a suspect to determine if I am Kira is permissible. Ogling me while I stretch is unacceptable. Or have you forgotten the reason for our being chained together?"

He noted with sadistic amusement how Ryuuzaki's fingers tightened on his knees in response- silent admittance of guilt, as Ryuuzaki kept his expression unreadable. It almost made up for the embarrassing fact that Light hadn't been attempting to seduce the other man- he was merely unused to factoring in the detective's attraction when interacting with him. Determining that he would be more careful of his actions in the future, Light finally realized that Ryuuzaki's apparent fixation might actually prove useful in tormenting the annoying detective. His profession of friendship had been ridiculous and nothing Light saw much use in- but this could be interesting...

"...Light-kun?" Ryuuzaki queried.

With a start, Light realized he'd gone so far into his calculations as to not hear what Ryuuzaki had been saying. Wondering at himself, Light frowned and sat up slowly, running his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Ryuuzaki, I must have been distracted. What were you saying?"

Despite the lack of any real change in Ryuuzaki's expression, Light got the impression that Ryuuzaki was giving him a look of suspicious reproach for his lack of concentration. "The possibility of my forgetting why I am chained to Light-kun is less than one percent, barring head injury," Ryuuzaki repeated mildly. "The chain does not inconvenience only Light-kun."

Light stared at Ryuuzaki, feeling as though a window had opened in his mind. "Of course..." He had analyzed the separate facts of Ryuuzaki's social awkwardness, his previous inclinations toward complete anonymity and his apparent inability to relate to others, but Light had never actually applied empathy to Ryuuzaki before. It had seemed almost ridiculous to assume that a person like Light would need to look at the situation from Ryuuzaki's point of view, and the detective's actions had only been studied in how they affected Light or the investigation. That had been more than enough to cooperate with the man and to predict many of his actions. How much this realization would allow him to learn about the other man, however, remained to be determined. "It seems I owe you another apology, Ryuuzaki," he began cautiously. Ryuuzaki blinked at him, no doubt wondering where this conversation was going. "Of course this situation inconveniences you as well. You're obviously a person more used to solitude, so being around another person constantly must be very hard on you."

For an instant, Light felt the force of Ryuuzaki's scrutiny as almost an itching on his skin as dark eyes bore into him. It faded, and Ryuuzaki turned his head away to study the opposite wall and chew his thumb as he thought. Light realized with discomfort that it had been a relief to have the detective look away; that stare had given him the strangest feeling of being opaque.

"Why does Light-kun assume that I was used to solitude?"

The question made Light snort. "Ryuuzaki, please. You're the only person I've met that I can converse with on my own level. It must be the same for you. I can at least socialize with others; you have almost no social maturity. Besides, that way of sitting and how you keep your emotions so guarded- they're obvious signs of defensiveness. People make you nervous."

That statement was rewarded with both a finger-clench and a toe curl as Ryuuzaki gnawed more furiously at his thumb. Light was temporarily distracted by the desire to knock Ryuuzaki's hand away, but knew that would lead to a fight. Which would be fun another time, but he was intent on the current conversation. "...Light-kun guards his own emotions as well," Ryuuzaki pointed out. "I have seen him choose what to display many times..." His gaze slid sidelong to Light, who was now watching him irritably. "...No one else would notice," he assured. "My study of Light-kun has not been for nothing, and has led to other conclusions aside from attraction." If Light didn't know better, he'd swear the detective was being sarcastic.

"You're avoiding the subject, Ryuuzaki. I don't act as I do from nervousness, I just can't abide thoughtless actions. I admit to being curious, however- have you always sat that way, Ryuuzaki, or am I right? Have your habits become worse only since you've been forced into our constant company?"

There was a long pause while the famous detective apparently communed with the wall over whether to respond.

In the next moment Ryuuzaki shifted slowly, and Light's eyes widened in surprise. The dark-haired man was now sitting casually on the bed, one leg curled comfortably on the covers and the other still raised- but he appeared to recline rather than hunch anxiously. His arm rested absently on his raised knee while the other hand poised in a relaxed way on the bed. When he turned his head to regard Light, he appeared taller than he had, and Light found himself re-evaluating his estimate of the other man's age. He'd thought Ryuuzaki couldn't be more than a few scant years older than himself, but now he pushed his age closer to the mid-twenties at least. For some reason, this new version of L made Light's heart beat slightly faster, and he couldn't quite recover his mental footing.

When Ryuuzaki spoke, his voice was serious and more direct. "Light-kun is correct. The Kira case has... brought out many habits I had thought myself grown out of. I don't reveal myself to strangers without reason, and it had been years since a case required enough of my attention to give me the need for a constant supply of sweets." He released Light from his gaze, looking to the wall again and speaking almost to himself. "The farther we get on this case, the more I wonder... if this will be my last investigation. A spectacular case with a man who can kill using his mind, across any distance, needing only a name and a face..."

"...Do you mean that you may retire when we find Kira?" Light demanded, though the idea gave him a slight rush of power. For who else would Ryuuzaki choose to be his successor but Light?

"...I mean that I am not sure I will survive to Kira's capture," Ryuuzaki corrected. "Whatever power it is that allowed you and Amane-san to kill and then left you without your memories, and is now killing again... I can't see an end to it."

Light frowned at Ryuuzaki. "Not that again. We've fought over this already."

Ryuuzaki shook his head. "No, Light-kun. I do not mean to say that I've given up hope; my urge to capture Kira is as strong as ever. That doesn't change the fact that since you were released from confinement... I've had the feeling that it will be Kira who kills me." He lowered his head slightly. "I have to admit, Yagami-kun- I would prefer the first Kira to be my murderer. This new Kira, with Yotsuba corporation, is petty and greedy, while the second Kira..."

"Was an idiot," Light supplied, studying Ryuuzaki now as intently as the man normally watched him.

Nodding, Ryuuzaki looked to Light again. "However. I would feel unsatisfied if I were to die without taking the original Kira with me- and all others we identify before that point."

"...Are you saying you believe me, that I'm not the original Kira?" Light asked, arching his eyebrows. He found that Ryuuzaki, like this, wasn't nearly as aggravating as he was used to. It was a little disconcerting to have a conversation with the older man that didn't end in anger.

"Not at all," Ryuuzaki contradicted. Light's eyes narrowed, all thoughts of this Ryuuzaki being better than the other vanishing. "I am certain that my calculations have always been correct in this matter. But still, if a Kira were to kill me..."

Light's eyebrows drew together. "...Following your reasoning... You want me to be the one to kill you." A thought occurred to him, and he glared at Ryuuzaki suspiciously. "That isn't the real reason you have me chained to you, is it? Hoping that if another Kira finds who you are, I could kill you instead? It isn't going to happen, Ryuuzaki. I'm not Kira, and I don't have that power."

Ryuuzaki's lips twitched into a small smile again, and he drew his legs back into their customary curl, hands alighting once more on his knees. "If Yagami-kun as Kira can not find my name out on his own, I will not supply it to him in order to kill me. I merely hope that if anyone defeats me, it is a worthy opponent. Now- I believe we have wasted enough time," he asserted, crawling across the bed toward the door.

Reaching out swiftly, Light grabbed the chain connecting them. He smirked as Ryuuzaki instinctively fell to his side in preparation for kicking defensively. "I still expect to be allowed access to the tapes from last night, Ryuuzaki."

"..." Ryuuzaki stared back at Light with his expression guarded. "...If Light-kun delays the investigation longer, I will have to assume that-"

Light glared at him. "Don't, Ryuuzaki. You evading like that just makes me suspect you even more."

Appearing slightly impatient, Ryuuzaki tugged the chain free and rolled from the bed. "As Light-kun requests, he may review the tapes from last night."

"You acceding to my request makes me even more suspicious," Light informed him dryly. Still, he left the bed as well, pausing to pull the sheets and blankets on his side into precise order and casting the crumpled mess on Ryuuzaki's side a disdainful look. "-I think I'd like to review the tapes from the rest of the week as well," he added, just to see Ryuuzaki frown.

Ryuuzaki, however, merely nodded and headed for the door, forcing Light to follow. "When Light-kun is certain, he may ask again."

Light's eyebrows twitched as he barely avoided scowling at his chain-partner after a quick mental review of what he'd just said. "You know what I meant, Ryuuzaki."

"Do I?" Ryuuzaki queried emotionlessly as he opened the door and walked through without waiting for the younger man. "Light-kun flatters my reasoning. Or have you come to realize that you feel camaraderie with me? Maybe being chained to me so long has put ideas into your head as well-"

"Ryuuzaki," Light finally managed to speak past his annoyance as he followed. "Those sorts of ideas will never enter my mind. I'm not a perverted detective like you..."

"I was referring to friendship, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki stated, pretending surprise as he nibbled his thumb. "Why would that make me perverted...?"

"So you claim you haven't thought of kissing me again?" Light returned, though that hadn't actually been the conversation they'd been on.

"...It can not be 'again', when I was unable to kiss you the first time," Ryuuzaki pointed out, turning his steps to the bathroom attached to their suite.

Light snorted in annoyance, then paused at the door of the bathroom. "...Ryuuzaki."

"Yes?"

"...Do you have cameras in our bathroom as well?" Light asked, eyes narrowed in blatant distrust.

Ryuuzaki stopped, turning in the doorway to look back at Light with wide eyes and the tip of his thumb lightly against his lips. "Of course. Everywhere in this building is constantly recorded, Light-kun, and the places you might go are taken from multiple angles."

Involuntarily, Light felt his cheeks warm. He managed to convince himself it was anger rather than embarrassment. "What could possibly be gained by getting footage of me in the shower?"

"..." Ryuuzaki's head tilted. "...I should think that was obvious, Light-kun. You have taken classes on physical educat-" He was cut off by the advent of Light's fist connecting once more with his jaw.

LxLxL

When Light and Ryuuzaki finally made it to the planning room an hour later than usual covered in various bruises and several bandages, there was an awkward silence from the other detectives.

Matsuda was the only one willing to risk even an indirect question. Nervously smiling, he gave Light an uncertain plea with his eyes. "I thought we were getting along better now?" he asked. "I mean, we played poker last night..."

"We're getting along fine," Light responded smoothly. "Have their been any new developments?" he asked, changing the subject as he took his usual seat.

Taking the hint, Matsuda slumped his shoulders in disappointment and then launched into a description of what they'd been up to. As neither Ryuuzaki nor Light had been helping, it wasn't much. Still, Light listened intently and nodded encouragement. Ryuuzaki, spared from all social niceties, sat beside Light and returned to work.

They spent the day as they had the days before, chasing Kira, and as morning faded through from evening and on into night, the detectives left one by one.

By midnight, Light and Ryuuzaki were the only members of the task force still conscious.

* * *

My portrayal of 'serious!L' here is actually supported by analysis of the manga. Until he shows himself to the police force, L is shown alone in a room communicating with Watari through his notebook. In all of these scenes- and they're in several different chapters, well into the second manga- L is shown sitting casually as I described him, or occasionally kneeling to see the screen easily. He doesn't appear defensive or hunched. There are no sweets anywhere around him, and he isn't even shown biting his thumb until page 89 of the second manga- after showing himself to the task force for the first time. He was also shown several times standing straight, not even hunched as we're used to. It wasn't until around page 128 that he began to even have tea shown around him and the nail biting/ thumb thing came more into play, when he began to finally focus all of his energy on Kira and had allied himself with the team firmly. L looked a lot older when he was shown early on, before he started curling up and eating candy and sugar.

Anyway, I noticed that as odd, so got page numbers and reread DN to make sure I was right. I don't think these were mistakes on an undeveloped character, because his eyes were purposely never shown, so his design seemed to already have been finalized... I believe it was meant to show the contrast between L in his complete solitude and the safety of anonymity versus the anxiety he feels around the task force and when he's put his life on the line as Ryuuzaki. (Reading the wikipedia article on Death Note chars later, it's also possible that the artist simply decided to change how to draw L's appearance from a handsome man to an eccentric guy when he actually showed his face... But I like my analysis better.)

And before anyone tells me I'm being too serious about it, it's just a manga/anime/set of movies- I'm not serious at all. I just have a major thing for literary analysis, and I couldn't remember anyone else mentioning this, so thought as long as I seem to be writing this I may as well have fun. /babble

Title for the chapter is the Savage Garden song Chained to You. Anyone else always think of Light and Ryuuzaki when you hear it...? Hmm. Aside from the whole 'dancing to Madonna' bit. Also! Next chapter has a little more slashiness in it.

Comment reviews:

MiaoShou: I usually picture Light as possessing Kira's ego but not showing it as often, so that's how I write him. Sorry to make you annoyed at him! Serious molesting happens several chapters from this, actually, but Light remains himself.

SonokoTao: Thank you for realizing that and phrasing it that way! It pleased me greatly. I love wordplay...

BonneNuit: Pinned Light would have that effect, yup. I'm glad you enjoyed it!


	4. 32 Flavors

Chapter Four: 32 Flavors

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Rating: PG 13

Pairing: L / Light

Warning(s): Contains spoilers for manga 1 - some-number-lower-than-7 but still including the Yotsuba arc, and however that relates to the anime. This chapter with slightly more slash!

* * *

A soft, persistent pressure against his mouth brought Light gradually back from the depths of his sleeping analysis. He drew his eyebrows together and made a faint noise of questioning annoyance- he was sure he'd been on the right track in his investigation, and a few more minutes to think was all he needed to give himself and L a new direction to search in with the Yotsuba corporation.

The pressure left and Light relaxed again in satisfaction. Where had he been? Ah, yes, working on that program to compile the new information on the Kira murders...

Something wet and faintly ticklish brushed his lips, and Light stirred once more. "Mm...?" Annoyed, he reluctantly abandoned his subconscious program writing and slid his eyes open.

When he met a pair of dark orbs less than an inch from his own and realized what that irritating sensation must have been, the young genius let out a strangled noise and fell out of his chair to escape. As he looked up at Ryuuzaki with eyes still too shocked to be angry yet and his legs tangled on the cushion, Ryuuzaki merely peered at him with his infernally collected pitch-colored eyes.

Light's surprise lasted only a moment before a glare that should have caused Ryuuzaki to spontaneously combust took over his face and he sprang at the older man with intent to harm. Ryuuzaki dodged back a moment too late, and the two fell from Ryuuzaki's chair to grapple on the floor, each trying to get enough room to kick or punch the other.

"What- the _hell_- was that, Ryuuzaki?" Light shouted, managing to rip one of the bandages from the dark-haired man's cheek with his fist.

"Light-kun- fell asleep," grunted Ryuuzaki, getting his foot between them and shoving Light off of himself before following instantly. Light rolled out from under him before he could be pinned, and scored a hit with a chain-wrapped fist to the side of Ryuuzaki's head.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Light snapped, taking advantage of Ryuuzaki being momentarily stunned to hit him again. "You could have woken me up like a normal person!"

Licking blood from the corner of his mouth, Ryuuzaki shook his head to clear it and clipped Light's jaw with his heel. The younger man's head snapped back in a satisfying way, distracting him long enough for Ryuuzaki to kneel on his chest. Ryuuzaki leaned in closer, causing Light to focus on him with a frown. "...I wanted to see how Kira tastes," Ryuuzaki explained mildly. Fury glowed in Light's eyes, and Ryuuzaki almost smiled before the younger man shoved him off with sheer adrenaline and punched the famous detective in his jaw, neck and stomach in quick succession.

After that the fight became too serious for words, each man intent on causing maximum damage to the other in a short period of time. For minutes the only sounds in the room were those of flesh hitting hard into flesh, grunts of pain and exertion, and the rattle of the chain.

When the strength of the punches slackened and the kicks began to lose force, the men finally collapsed to the floor to pant and recover. Carelessly wiping away blood and sweat from a torn lip with his wrist, Light looked across at Ryuuzaki with a certain lassitude. Seeing a similar look on the other man's face- exhausted but with an edge of contentment- Light couldn't help a smirk. The smirk grew, and in a moment Light was snickering uncontrollably in-between gasps for air.

Blinking at this, Ryuuzaki considered how the other looked laughing. After a moment, he let himself fall to his back, limbs sprawled carelessly as his chest rose sharply. He was aware of bruises building upon bruises covered in occasional cuts. "Light-kun... picks a strange time to laugh," he commented wearily, voice coming out almost lazily.

As his snickering wore down, Light mimicked Ryuuzaki's position without thought, head feeling heavier than it should. "I'm the strange one?" he asked wryly, unable to work up annoyance at the thought. "That's funny, Ryuuzaki. I'm not the one who curls up in terror whenever someone he doesn't know walks into the room," he drawled. Paranoia, constant tension, interrupted sleep and their eternal drive to catch Kira seemed to have faded after the cathartic fight, and Light felt it hard to keep track of his body. He stretched out slightly, and his feet brushed against Ryuuzaki's. Not feeling an immediate urge to move them, he opened an eye with effort and with yet more effort nudged one of Ryuuzaki's legs with one foot. "You're not sitting up."

"...Too much effort," Ryuuzaki admitted honestly, catching his breath at last.

"Isn't it harder to watch me that way...?" Light questioned sardonically.

"..." Ryuuzaki sighed. "Light-kun makes a good point... I'll review the tapes later..."

"Heh. So you can watch me kick your ass?" Light asked with a smirk, eyes closing again.

"...I believe we had a tie, due to our bodies being unable to keep up with us," Ryuuzaki corrected.

"Mm..." It took a few tries, but Light pulled himself into an upright position, drawing his feet away from Ryuuzaki's as an afterthought. He looked down on the detective musingly, taking in the obvious evidence of their fight. "Funny. You look like you lost," he observed.

Opening his eyes, Ryuuzaki resisted the urge to move for nearly four seconds before the vulnerable position became too much to bear and he struggled to sit up with a wince. "Light-kun does not look any more the winner," he pointed out.

Light arched an eyebrow smugly. "Oh, but I did win. Or do I look so bad you wouldn't want to kiss me again...?" he asked, tilting his head.

"..." Ryuuzaki merely stared at him, unable to think of a way to effectively argue that.

"You see. So I won- because you look so horrible I'd never want to kiss you," Light replied easily. He stood, cataloguing his pains but considering them more than worth the fight. "Now, let's go-" He succeeded in walking another step before Ryuuzaki caught his ankle and sent him crashing to the floor with a curse. "What-?" He narrowed his eyes when he realized he'd been effectively pinned by the detective, wrists held together above his head and legs pressed down by Ryuuzaki's kneeling weight.

"Light-kun said he does not use the emotions of people who care about him ," Ryuuzaki reiterated. He put his face just out of head-bashing range to give Light an intent stare. "Some weapons are dangerous to use."

That said, he moved off of Light abruptly and started walking, jerking at the chain connecting them.

Shaken, Light frowned at the imperious gesture and pulled his hand back, childishly unwilling to go along. "So you can kiss me while I'm asleep and then act righteous when I remind you that I hate you?"

Ryuuzaki paused, gazing back at Light. "Yagami-kun hates me... Would he miss me at all if I die?" He tilted his head. "Or would that only make his life easier?"

Sighing in an aggravated way, Light pulled himself wearily to his feet. "It wouldn't make my life easier. You're a valuable part of the team, Ryuuzaki, you know that. Without us the investigation wouldn't go anywhere."

"But you still don't like me," Ryuuzaki pointed out blandly.

Light lifted his handcuffed wrist. "Do you blame me? In any case, Ryuuzaki, I strongly suspect no one but Watari and your parents actually likes you."

Though nothing definable changed, Light got the sudden impression that Ryuuzaki had become closed off and impossible to reach. He wondered if it was only the subject, or if his mention of Watari or the detective's parents were what had sent him back behind his walls.

He also realized, uncomfortably, that his own secure walls had been down for several minutes. He'd been reacting rashly and emotionally, and hadn't been thinking out his actions. Disturbed, Light walked with Ryuuzaki to their room in silence.

At the suite, however, Light paused in the doorway with a faint frown. "...Ryuuzaki," he asked gravely.

The detective stopped, turning his head only slightly and not bothering to glance back at Light.

Accepting this as the encouragement to continue that it was, Light fixed Ryuuzaki with a stern look. "In the future, if you have an interest in someone and want to kiss them, don't justify it by telling that person that you're only doing it to see how a serial killer tastes."

Ryuuzaki's head jerked, dark eyes fixing on Light in surprise. "...Understood," he finally deadpanned.

Having successfully broken through the wall again, Light turned to close the door, hiding a pleased smirk.

* * *

32 Flavors is by Ani DiFranco. Since I don't like that version, however, I'm going to promote Alana Davis instead. I listen to it and think of L, though one part makes me think Light instead.

Also, I'm sorry this one is shorter! But they'd been making some progress and so I wanted to skip a little time. I think this is one of the shortest chapters of the story, actually- toward the end they're nearing thirty pages...

MiaoShou: Oh no! Now they're both annoying you? They're fun to write though. Since I've only read the manga and it doesn't have the rain scene, yours was around the third reference to it I've seen- I downloaded that ep now (25, right?) and will watch it. I'll keep my eye out for the posture and see if I notice it too.

RecluseMoon: Thanks!

yellowrose87: I'm not sure if you've heard of mental poker- it's very possible, but as far as I know I made it up. Meaning it may have been absorbed subconsciously... There was something that inspired it, another mental game, but I honestly can't remember what that inspiration was. Also, unfortunately, I have Goodnight Moon finished (I'm just now starting on the sequel though) I'm just pacing how I post the chapters here, once every few days. (Mostly just because otherwise I'd get to the point where I'm at in the sequel and all of you would be waiting weeks for an update instead of this- I'm trying to get a buffer for stories here so it's not so long between...). Ah! I forgot his hair changed in the manga... I think I noticed and disregarded it, but it would be funny to work it in as something like a certain kind of weather or hair product making his hair curl. Or a lack of cake. Thanks! I love people citing pages- I have a hardcopy of that manga, so went to it- that is the right page. Fascinating!

YaanKarasu: I may take you up on the debate! If I think of something fun to debate. Hmmmm... Thank you, though! My mind is trying to think of ways to work L's curly hair in now. ::laughs::

Naitchal666: I like stalkers! Especially ones that aren't creepy. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far and have no complaints!

psych11: Genius euchre is an intriguing idea; I mostly know that game from wikipedia wandering and being the sort of person who looks at word of the day information on dictionary sites for fun. Is it a difficult game? Also, thank you for commenting on two chapters- very pleasing.

BonneNuit: Yay! Glad you liked it.

Kagome-chn LP: Thank you very much! Your English isn't bad, it's perfectly understandable. I also think of Kira-less Light as still being proud and sharp, though that's probably a better way to phrase it than I'd have come up with.


	5. Ways and Means

Chapter Five: Ways and Means

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Rating: PG 13

Pairing: L / Light

Warning(s): Contains spoilers for manga 1 - some-number-lower-than-7 but still including the Yotsuba arc, and however that relates to the anime.

Comment: Guess what- when writing a fic, it really helps to reread the original material you're basing it on! You might find out fun things like the fact that you completely messed up the timeline. Like, say, you have Aizawa chilling with the others for days after they find out about Yotsuba corp., instead of having quit the investigation team already... And because of this, you may have to make up some sort of lame excuse, like 'this is AU, so in this version, there are several days between when Light discovers the link between Kira #3 and Yotsuba and when Aizawa is forced to call it quits.' And then you might have to scrap what you'd had written for the chapter thus far, and start from scratch with major ass-coverage.

You know, that sort of thing might happen.

Also, I'm still working off of the Orange Tangerine scanlations, so there are bound to be some very different things said in the parts I'm actually quoting. Bear with me. Until Aizawa actually leaves, things spoken in this chapter are from the OT manga- after that is from my own demented imagination. Annnd in the original manga, this scene was not performed with Light and L covered in injuries and bandages. More's the pity.

Since chapter four is so short, here's five for a little something extra!

* * *

"There is no one left to recruit now that the Japanese police force has yielded to Kira."

The announcement came as a shock, even to Light and Ryuuzaki. After Light's creation of a program that gave him worldwide access to police information, learning that Kira could kill in ways other than heart-attacks and above all the group's breakthrough several days ago discovering Yotsuba corporation's likely involvement with the latest Kira, it had seemed like finding the new Kira was imminent.

Watching his father in concern but still feeling detached from the conversation, Light remained by Ryuuzaki's side as chief Yagami gave an impassioned speech about resigning from the police force with Mogi to remain on the case. The decisions of the other detectives were of no real consequence to him; though they contributed as much effort as they could to the case, he didn't feel that any of them were vital. As long as Light and Ryuuzaki remained, there was no doubt in Light's mind that Kira would be caught. His surprise had been more at the fact that the Japanese police force had surrendered so easily to political pressure from Kira- he'd held the justice system in high esteem his entire life, aspiring to be the chief of the police force someday in spite of the system's obvious flaws. To have that system fail now when it was needed the most felt almost like a personal betrayal.

Light was distracted from his thoughts by Ryuuzaki asserting that he believed the others should return to the police, and that he would continue with the investigation alone. Apparently, his fellow genius had not been following his train of thought and was instead expecting Light to leave like the others. "Ryuuzaki, you'll never be on your own as long as I'm still here," he reminded with an irritated frown, lifting his wrist and shaking it deliberately to make the chain rattle. "I haven't forgotten our promise."

Though his face remained hidden by his hair and his defensive crouch on his chair in front of the computer terminals, Light saw Ryuuzaki's head tilt slightly in acknowledgement and he relaxed. "That's right. I must ask Yagami-kun to remain here with me until I catch Kira. But everyone else should return to the police..."

No longer concerned with the conversation, Light stood casually at Ryuuzaki's side, idly studying the group of detectives as the older men argued with Ryuuzaki about whether they could stay in the investigation and what would happen with their families and jobs. Matsuda's insistence on remaining was mildly aggravating- the man was completely useless- but when it became apparent that Aizawa would most probably be leaving headquarters he felt mild regret. Mogi was a steady worker who could tirelessly collect tedious information that Light or Ryuuzaki would have otherwise had to waste time on, but Aizawa showed more of a tendency to come up with original suggestions.

He also had an annoying tendency to second-guess Ryuuzaki or Light's theories when they knew they were right, but Light also knew that this had come to his favor before once Aizawa became convinced of Light's innocence. Everyone in the group listened to the man's ideas when he spoke.

When Aizawa was teetering on the edge of two decisions, Watari's voice came through the screen, explaining about a lifetime pension available for members of the investigation who had been fired from the police. Noting the timing of Watari's intervention, Light barely kept from rolling his eyes- he doubted any such plan had been in place until Watari thought of it to give Aizawa a way out. After all, there was no reason for it to not have been mentioned previously, when Ukita had been killed- or even before that, when the secret investigation team had been first assembled to risk their lives to catch Kira. If Aizawa preferred to assume it was just Ryuuzaki testing him again... well, he would be correct now. Light assumed with wry annoyance that the opportunity to poke at Aizawa and see how he reacted was beyond Ryuuzaki's ability to resist, even if it meant losing the detective's help on the case.

His assumption was proved right within seconds, and Aizawa stormed off after shouting how much he detested Ryuuzaki and that he wouldn't be able to stand working with him any longer.

When Aizawa was gone and Matsuda and the former chief of police watched the door in stunned silence, Light leaned closer to Ryuuzaki and spoke too quietly for the others to hear.

"So much for genius poker bringing the group together."

Ryuuzaki brought his thumb to his lips thoughtfully and rolled his dark eyes up at Light. "...He didn't play."

Snorting softly, Light straightened again, arms crossed. "That must be it." From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Ryuuzaki smile.

He didn't realize that he was smiling, too.

LxLxL

Midnight found the two men facing each other on the plush couches in their suite. A table was between them, and on it rested an empty chessboard.

Ryuuzaki's sharp gaze tracked Light's hand as it reached out to the board, 'lifted' something invisible and moved it in a precise pattern. When Light sat back, the detective studied the board a moment before selecting another imaginary piece and sliding it diagonally across the board before stopping his hand much closer to Light's side. Light's brows drew together, and Ryuuzaki wiggled his toes on the couch as he idly studied the boy across from him in the comfortably tense silence.

Moments later, Light took a piece of air and moved it across two spaces and up one, away from Ryuuzaki's invisible bishop. Ryuuzaki nibbled his thumb before breaking the silence for the first time since the game had begun. "Is Light-kun sure he wants to move his last knight there?" he asked innocently before Light could release the imaginary game-piece.

Light's brows furrowed, and he swept his gaze with intense concentration over the board. Apparently seeing something, he chuckled distractedly. "Good try, Ryuuzaki, but I'm not falling for it." Pulling his hand away and leaving the 'bishop' where he'd moved it, he smirked. "You might want to move your rook, by the way, it's looking a little defenseless."

"A castle is never defenseless," Ryuuzaki argued placidly, not seeming concerned. "Some are merely better defended than others." He made his move with an air of nonchalance, expression controlled to keep from a smug smirk. The look of shocked anger that briefly flared in Light's honey-colored eyes was worth the risky move. "Light-kun always disregards the pawns," Ryuuzaki observed softly. "Even the smallest pieces can serve a large role."

A muscle in Light's jaw jumped, indicating his clenched jaw as he regained control, and Ryuuzaki shifted in a pleased way. The movement caused a heavily bruised muscle in his back to tighten uncomfortably, and Ryuuzaki tensed before carefully adjusting his crouch to put less pressure on the wound. Light's eyes flicked from the board to the detective.

"...That's from the counter, right?" he asked.

Startled, Ryuuzaki blinked at Light to buy time for a response. "...Light-kun remembers," he stated.

The young man across from him rolled his eyes. "Obviously, Ryuuzaki. We should probably avoid fights like that in confined spaces from now on. But I didn't think about throwing you against the sink... Are you okay?"

This required several blinks. "..." Mind working frantically fast to think what advantage Light could gain from acting as if he were actually concerned, Ryuuzaki scratched his knee nervously. "...I'll recover quickly, and required no stitches," he answered cautiously. "How is Light-kun healing?"

Light gave a wry smile and shrugged. "I'm doing all right. We both did a number on each other." Casually, he moved his piece, and the logic clicked. Ryuuzaki relaxed slightly.

"Light-kun can not distract me so easily," Ryuuzaki informed him, and was rewarded with Light's expression hesitating a fraction of a second too long before it changed to one of confused innocence.

"I was just concerned, Ryuuzaki. I'm not heartless, whatever you seem to think, and the edge of the counter is sharp. With how much strain you put on your lower back anyway sitting like that, it's not something you should ignore."

"..." Deciding to turn Light's game against him, Ryuuzaki made another move. "Light-kun is very observant," he commented, not looking away from the board but knowing he had Light's attention. "Most people would not be able to so quickly diagnose my problem. How did you know it was my back that was hurt...?"

Brows furrowing again at the unexpected verbal maneuver, Light slid one of his imaginary rooks sharply across the board. "It was obvious. You became stiff and I only had to watch which part of you was relaxed with the most caution- you were favoring your right side, lower back. You don't have a scar there, so the easiest explanation was that you'd received a more severe injury in one of our fights. The only time something hit you right there was when you fell against the sink counter in the bathroom. It's simple deduction."

Ryuuzaki countered his move instantly. "I'm flattered that Light-kun spends so much time watching me." He lifted his eyes to Light's, widening them slightly. "Will you give me a massage when I win? My back really is distracting me..."

Light narrowed his eyes in disgusted annoyance. "Don't bring me down to your level, Ryuuzaki." He hesitated, and Ryuuzaki watched in fascination as Light's mind moved almost visibly, calculating possible gain against loss. "...Unless, when I win, you give me a piece of information that could lead to your identity." Smirking, Light brushed his hair back from his eyes and triumphantly took Ryuuzaki's remaining rook.

Ryuuzaki appeared to mull this over, looking intently at Light. Sighing as though in defeat, he nodded, and Light's eyes widened in shock. Picking up one of his pieces, Ryuuzaki dragged it across the entire board, into the space his rook had been. He removed Light's piece decisively. "Check," he replied lightly.

Light stared at the board. The intensity of his gaze suggested he was desperately searching his mind for the pieces, trying out possible moves. Ryuuzaki let him be for a moment before leaning forward a bit and peering at the board in a mimicry of the younger man. "...My mistake," Ryuuzaki corrected himself, tilting his head and bringing his thumb to his lips. "Checkmate." He rolled his gaze up at Light in time to see the other man barely resist the urge to punch him. Definitely checkmate. Returning to his crouch in satisfaction, Ryuuzaki curled and uncurled his toes and took his first bite of cake in an hour, closing his eyes and relishing the sweetness as it burst into his mouth.

When he opened his eyes, Light was visibly attempting to calm himself. Before the genius could think of a loophole, Ryuuzaki swallowed and spoke. "I will save my massage for later. As it is, I believe it would do more harm than good. That was a good game," he added consolingly, stretching his legs out and standing to begin his shuffle to the bedroom. "Normally invisible chess is too one-sided... Light-kun?" he asked, pausing when he realized that Light was showing no inclination to move, and instead was staring at Ryuuzaki's closed laptop with suspicion.

LxLxL

Light needed to keep control. Watching Ryuuzaki wasn't helping that, and so Light had been trying to find something neutral to study while his mind calmed and could work out a good way out of this mess. When he saw the laptop, however, chess and the bet left his mind as a new problem entered it. A thought connected to the computer... Or the screen. His eyes narrowed, mind raising and discarding possibilities in less than a second and settling on one faster than his conscious thoughts could follow. Of course.

"Ryuuzaki. In the command center, when Aizawa was on the edge, Watari spoke... He monitors everything, doesn't he?" Light asked without emotion, sensing that Ryuuzaki had stopped beside him.

"...Most often, the rooms that we are in, though he keeps an eye on Amane-san's room when we are working," Ryuuzaki agreed, tone implying a question.

Light's shoulder's tightened and his next words carried the potential for instant violence in spite of their calm. "Tell me that he didn't see you- what you did while I was asleep last night."

"..." Ryuuzaki looked to the ceiling for help, hands buried in his pockets. Before he spoke, Light felt him gather his balance for a fight. "...Even if he didn't see it as it occurred, it was taped from several angles, which he would have reviewed-"

Light was unsurprised when Ryuuzaki caught his first punch. That wasn't why he'd done it- he'd merely wanted closer. His free hand whipped up and flung a couch pillow into the dark-haired man's face.

Purely on instinct, Ryuuzaki used both hands to block the pillow- tried too late to stop himself- and grunted in pain as Light's knee caught him hard in the side. He barely blocked the punch Light followed the kick up with. Before Ryuuzaki could retaliate, the phone sitting on a smaller table beside Ryuuzaki's loveseat rang. Both men paused, watching each other for which would be the first to look away and leave an opening. They held their positions, caught between blows and not daring to look away, tension vibrating between them.

The phone continued to ring.

Giving in, Ryuuzaki backed toward it, keeping in a slight crouch with his muscles readied to fight or dodge. He lifted the receiver delicately to his ear. After a moment, he blinked, dark-rimmed eyes on Light. "...He wants to speak to you," Ryuuzaki announced.

Light glared. "Why would I want to answer?"

"..." Ryuuzaki listened to the response. "He said that if we don't stop fighting, he'll assume we need help to stay friendly." Light scoffed, crossing his arms on his chest to show his opinion of Watari's threat. "...The help will be Amane-san."

Light and Ryuuzaki stared at each other, letting the thought of Misa invading their suite for any length of time sink in.

Sighing in annoyance, Light looked away first. "Fine, I can play nice. If you can keep from acting like a pervert, Ryuuzaki," he added.

Ignoring the jab, Ryuuzaki listened again, then carefully hung up. "...You know... Light-kun's reluctance to see his girlfriend does make the case for him being Kira stronger-"

"Acting like a pervert _or_ accusing me of that again," Light snapped, flashing Ryuuzaki an annoyed look and stalking for their room to get his nightclothes. Ryuuzaki was dragged along in his wake.

"...When exactly did Light-kun notice I have no scars on my back?" Ryuuzaki wondered out loud as he was led by the chain.

"One more comment, Ryuuzaki," Light warned in a voice that barely held its calm. "I'll knock you out and take my chances with Misa."

For once, Ryuuzaki didn't press the issue to Light's breaking point and the truce held. Perhaps the possible information he might glean on Kira wasn't worth waking up to Misa's mindless chatter- or he worried that Light would flirt back with her just to make the detective jealous.

In any case, the two got ready for bed safely and with no conversation. Once under the covers, Light informed Ryuuzaki that his notebook was now a hostage, and if he woke with Ryuuzaki kissing him again he was going to drop it out of one of their windows.

Wisely, Ryuuzaki did not inform Light that he had already had Watari prepare several spares after the last such threat. Instead, he nodded to show his understanding and curled up to spend another night in meditation while Light slept as lightly as possible.

* * *

Ways and Means is by Snow Patrol. See you around, lovely readers.


	6. The Stranger

Chapter Six: The Stranger

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Rating: PG 13 (For language and brief... well... battle-snogging.)

Pairing: L / Light

Warning(s): Contains spoilers for manga 1 - some-number-lower-than-7 but still including the Yotsuba arc, and however that relates to the anime.

Comment: This was a fun chapter to write. Hope you like it.

* * *

Little more than a week later Light sat in front of his computer terminal, chin resting on the back of his hand and gaze unseeingly fixed on the screen. Beside him, Ryuuzaki had carelessly shoved his own keyboard aside to indulge in a piece of cake without distraction... but for once, Light found that his mind was occupied with larger things than whether the detective was going to attempt to kiss him in his sleep again (it had happened twice more, but each time Light had woken instinctively and defended himself) or if he was going to be accused of being Kira.

He had begun to doubt his own innocence.

Because, if you looked at the situation logically... Light found that his argument for not being Kira was so thin that if the circumstances were reversed he would be certain of his own guilt. As it was, the only defense he had was that he knew that he was right. He would remember killing thousands of people. Of course he would; to forget something like that would make him insane. If it were Ryuuzaki in his own position, however... he wouldn't believe him.

There was evidence linking the second Kira to Misa. Misa's obsessive loyalty to Light mirrored perfectly the second Kira's loyalty to and support of Kira. She had met Light on the 22nd at Aoyama- exactly as the second Kira had implied. She still couldn't remember how she had learned Light's name that day, or why she had fallen in love with him at first sight.

Light could remember meeting Raye Penber on the bus ride to Space Land, and getting his identity; the fact that this was due to a reported criminal who subsequently died attacking the bus that Light was on was incredibly suspicious. On top of that, Light remembered meeting with Raye's fiance Naomi, even that he'd talked with her about her theory on Kira being able to kill with means other than heart attacks. However, he hadn't given the theory any extra thought until he and Ryuuzaki had discovered it for themselves. In fact, he'd almost forgotten about Naomi entirely, in spite of the fact that she'd gone missing under suspicious circumstances. Those last two facts he hadn't told Ryuuzaki, and even without them he was convinced of Light's guilt.

Everything in the Kira case up until his own self-imprisonment fit perfectly into the theory that Light was Kira and Misa was the second Kira. But to believe that, Light would have to take on faith the idea that something could give him the power to kill a person knowing only their face and name, and that he would have used this power to try to reform the world- and then had turned himself in, after which point that mysterious power had left him and taken parts of his memory with it to find a new wielder of the death-giving power. That was so ridiculous he could barely consider it. Why would he turn himself in, if he had been Kira?

The answer was obvious. He must have known the power would leave, or been convinced that he could act innocent long enough to avoid being a suspect any longer; maybe he'd been afraid that he would be caught, and wanted to clear his name in an obvious way that could leave no doubt. But even that was ridiculous... for the first several weeks, there were no new deaths while he and Misa were under surveillance. If he wanted to prove himself innocent, he'd have been able to find a better plan than that.

Which left Ryuuzaki's other theory... that there was another Kira out there, a mastermind who'd controlled both Light and Misa, making them act as separate Kira and then causing them to be captured before erasing their memories and leaving them powerless.

Light frowned darkly. That theory made him into a puppet, and the level of intelligence it would take to not only outthink Ryuuzaki but Light at the same time was beyond imagining. That sort of mind would have left a mark somewhere and he'd seen no signs of it. Besides, the idea of being so helpless to another's whims offended him to the center of his being- he would rather that he had been the original Kira than some mere pawn in a larger game.

That thought stopped him. He would rather have been Kira...? He would rather that he'd made the decision over and over to kill so many people, even those FBI agents, than that he had been forced to by a larger power? That sort of arrogance and childish megalomania was exactly the profile of the original Kira. The deaths that had occurred with the first Kira fit into the scheme of justice that he could see himself acting upon...

There was no doubt. No room for mistake. Light must be Kira... Which was why Light was sitting frustrated, because he knew that he was not. All evidence, all logic, had to be wrong in order for him to be right, and yet he knew that he couldn't do what Kira had done and not remember, and not be changed, and show no signs aside from a little memory loss that anything at all had happened.

Turning his head slightly, Light wasn't surprised to see Ryuuzaki staring at him fixedly, cake forgotten. When the older man asked him what was wrong and why he looked so serious, Light managed a tired smile and a shrug.

"It's nothing. I just got tired from looking at the monitor so long."

He couldn't explain his thoughts to Ryuuzaki. The detective would just insist that he couldn't defend himself because he really was Kira. The man was too stubborn for words- he always had to be right.

And in this case, Light knew that he couldn't really argue and that maybe that was why he got so angry when Ryuuzaki continued to accuse him of being Kira.

Still, he certainly wasn't going to give Ryuuzaki the satisfaction of knowing that.

LxLxL

"Ugh... What a long day..." Light sighed. Entering the suite's bedroom, he rubbed his neck. In one day, Matsuda had gotten himself caught by Yotsuba and then 'killed', somehow turning the entire mess into a way to narrow a search of Yotsuba employees that numbered almost 300,000 people into eight prime suspects for a connection to the third Kira. "I'm still amazed it was Matsuda-san who managed it..."

Shuffling in after Light, Ryuuzaki peered at the other man, discarding the hat from the EMS uniform he was still wearing after he and Light's farce at being ambulance drivers. "...Matsuda-san is the only one I would not have trouble believing would try something that impulsive."

"Impulsive and stupid, you mean. He could have ruined everything and gotten himself killed." Light lifted his hand to forestall the possible argument. "And yes, that would have definitely pinned Yotsuba as having a connection to Kira, but I don't believe that would be worth Matsuda's death- we knew it was Yotsuba already from the too-helpful deaths of the other companies." Going to his dresser and dragging Ryuuzaki along carelessly, Light set his own hat more neatly on top of the dresser, unbuttoning the uniform's shirt and then holding his left wrist back for Ryuuzaki to unlock. Ryuuzaki obliged without comment and began to change himself as well.

Throughout the day, the only times Light was allowed to go without the chain were for the brief periods when he would dress or undress, and in the shower- though Ryuuzaki would insist on at least remaining in the bathroom with him. And apparently on taping his activities anyway, Light remembered with a grimace, rubbing his now-free wrist before removing and folding his shirt and pulling on a night-shirt. During Ryuuzaki's showers, to keep the locks on the handcuffs from rusting Light would find himself chained to the curtain rod for the duration, forced to wait in the steam and heat for the detective to finish.

Stretching leisurely without the annoying chain to rattle against his arm, Light finished getting dressed and then held his wrist out again expectantly. When the cuff didn't return, Light blinked, finally turning to look at Ryuuzaki to find the delay.

The raccoon-eyed man was standing several feet away, wearing lightweight night pants but holding his shirt delicately by his thumb and forefinger and appearing lost in thought.

"..." Aiberting his gaze from the half-dressed man, Light cleared his throat softly. "Ryuuzaki." He felt the heavy gaze turn to him and arched an eyebrow. When Ryuuzaki still didn't feel a need to explain, Light frowned, watching the wall across the room in mild aggravation. "What are you doing?"

"...I was thinking that today was more tiring than I had expected. Matsuda-san does not do much, but after Ukita-san... and Misora-san... I do not wish Kira to kill anyone else for helping us."

Startled by the unexpected occurrence of emotions in relation to Ryuuzaki, Light blinked, then drew his brows together. "Ryuuzaki- we don't know for certain that Kira killed Misora-san. She disappeared- it's plausible that if she did kill herself, it was because her fiancé-"

"The Misora-san that I know would not kill herself, under any circumstances," Ryuuzaki interrupted, voice quiet but brooking no argument. Rolling his shoulders as though to work away tension, Ryuuzaki slowly turned his dark eyes to Light, and Light recognized the straight posture and direct gaze this time.

"So, you aren't afraid of me right now?" Light asked in an attempt at being casual, still uneasy around this new version of the detective. Or, he corrected himself, the old version- the way Ryuuzaki was before Kira. It occurred to him that Ryuuzaki must be close to his own height, if not exactly as tall. He seemed so much smaller curled up like a victim.

Ryuuzaki brought his thumb thoughtfully to his lower lip, resting it there without biting before dropping his hand. "Should I be?"

Finding his irritation again after drawing his distracted eyes from Ryuuzaki's mouth, Light snorted and moved past the other man. "Quit being ridiculous, Ryuuzaki. If you aren't going to replace the cuff, I'm going to sleep."

Eyes on the ceiling, Ryuuzaki tilted his head slightly. "...I think I'd like my massage now," he decided out loud. Light froze in instant anger and Ryuuzaki smiled slightly, looking to the younger man once more with an expression that clearly stated Light's anger was ineffectual and rather amusing. "You did accept the bet. If I remember, you thought you could use it to find incriminating information about me." Black eyes blinked. "...Why did you want to know, if you aren't Kira?"

"Maybe I want some assurance that you were raised like a human and not produced in some factory," Light responded with a reproachful frown, turning to face Ryuuzaki with his arms crossed on his chest in a direct challenge.

Ryuuzaki spread his arms to show his lack of any unnatural scars and obvious humanity. The movement drew Light's attention to his chest, then down to his stomach and a fine trail of dark hairs starting low on his abdomen. Tearing his gaze away with pink cheeks, Light frowned at the wall with furious concentration, berating himself internally for the embarrassing lapse of control.

"That was an interesting reaction, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki observed curiously.

Refusing to be baited into that conversation, Light worked on remaining rational. He decided that the best course of action was avoidance- at least until he could explain how he'd reacted to himself. "Speaking of interesting, Ryuuzaki, I wouldn't have thought even you would go so low as to use the deaths of your former assistants in an attempt to win a massage."

"...Light-kun has me there," Ryuuzaki agreed, slouching slightly once more. "Though the massage was already won. It was my impression that sympathy might make you more inclined to cooperate."

Amazed at the gall of that and then deciding wryly that nothing should surprise him where the detective was concerned, Light gave the other man a look of mild reproach. "Now who's using the emotions of others?"

"But Light-kun has always insisted that you don't care for me," Ryuuzaki reminded. "Therefore, you wouldn't be able to be manipulated, would you?" Crawling over the covers, Ryuuzaki stretched out on his stomach, apparently deciding the argument was won.

"..." Eyes slightly wide, Light stared at him. "Ryuuzaki. You can't be serious- I don't know the first thing about giving massages, I could injure your back. Aside from the obvious points- that I don't want to touch you, and you're usually afraid I'll kill you on a good day. In any case, from what I know of massages they tend to use oils..." The sight of Ryuuzaki actually stretched full-length, let alone lying down, was almost enough to distract his mind. It didn't seem to suit the older man at all. "...And isn't that uncomfortable?"

"...It does feel strange," Ryuuzaki agreed blandly. "There are oils in my night stand. I am prepared to risk possible damage as an end to my means."

Gritting his teeth, Light went to check if the detective was really that annoying. He had been telling the truth: several small bottles of oil were waiting in the top drawer beside a box of what appeared to be emergency chocolate reserves. Because Light was always controlled and collected and was much more mature than Ryuuzaki, he resisted the brief impulse to throw one of the small bottles at the older man. Instead, he opened one and sniffed at it. A pleasant aroma of herbs wafted up to him with a fresh, clean scent that was somehow soothing. "When did you possibly have time to select these?"

"I gave the parameters to Watari," Ryuuzaki explained. His face was turned toward Light's side of the bed, and Light's sharp eyes detected something strange about his attempted relaxed posture.

Narrowing his eyes in thought, Light knelt on the bed with the oil forgotten in his right hand. With his other, he touched his fingers lightly to the detective's back and was rewarded with the taut muscles jerking slightly under his touch. Snorting a laugh, Light sat more calmly on the bed, superiority restored. "You've been lying there tensed like I'm about to attack you," Light observed. He drew his fingers down Ryuuzaki's spine and smirked as the older man tensed against a shiver. "Why do you want me to give you a massage if it's making you so paranoid? You can barely sit up straight around me, and you thought you could handle this sort of vulnerability? I never pegged you for a masochist, Ryuuzaki," he mocked.

"I've always thought of Light as a sadist," Ryuuzaki responded, voice almost undetectably tight.

Light let one of his fingers jab a bit more sharply, then opened the bottle of massage oil and sprinkled a small amount on the other man's skin. "That was a lie," he asserted. "Kira has always been practical and homicidal, but not a sadist. Even the times when he was experimenting on prisoners to test his power, it was for information, not only to cause pain..." Balancing the bottle on the covers, he began to work the oil into Ryuuzaki's muscles with both hands, starting at his shoulders and combining his knowledge of the physical make-up of the human body with mimicked techniques from television. Noting how quickly the oil disappeared, he frowned slightly and added more. "...The smell gets a little overpowering," he commented.

Not responding to the last, Ryuuzaki let a comfortable silence develop for a moment. Then, "...Was that a confession?"

Sighing, Light worked his hands more forcefully against Ryuuzaki's back. The detective made a small noise and Light paused for an instant's analysis before returning to the spot and a knot in the muscle there. "...It wasn't. You've always accused me of being Kira, so I assumed that when you insulted me you were referring to your image of me as Kira."

"That... was not my intention," Ryuuzaki responded, tensing against the pain. "Light-kun..."

"Shh," Light ordered absently, attention on the knot. He frowned and worked in concentration for several minutes, then smiled in satisfaction when the knot gave way. The sudden relaxation of Ryuuzaki's muscles startled him- and the detective's barely-stifled murmur of pleasure made him shift uncomfortably. "If you can't keep quiet, I'm not going to be able to pretend I'm not touching you," he continued after a moment's awkward silence. Ryuuzaki didn't reply this time.

The need to react on instinct to minute signals from Ryuuzaki's body for clues on how and where to move his hands drew his focus down, and Light worked at the massage in a trance-like state for half an hour.

LxLxL

Ryuuzaki was floating. The darkness he was in was tinted orange with distant light and a mix of herbs surrounded him with comforting scents. Somewhere, warm hands were causing him to melt, but he wasn't up to figuring out where the smells and touch were coming from.

Sleep had never been like this for the detective; it was always a brief moment of unconsciousness, easily disturbed by outside forces. It wasn't particularly restful and it left him with an uneasy feeling.

This, on the other hand... It was like taking that first bite of a perfect cake, moist and with a sweet flavor to tingle your mouth and lift you up- only it filled all of his senses and seemed to last forever.

If only this were what death was like, this peaceful nothingness, he didn't think he would be afraid anymore.

All too soon, a sound interrupted his blissful dream. The noise was associated in his mind with slight pain or discomfort, and as soon as Ryuuzaki had analyzed it he realized that he was conscious again.

Discarding the disappointment, Ryuuzaki spoke. "Light-kun...?" Talking seemed to be an unusual effort. This information was also filed away.

A familiar voice snorted in what Ryuuzaki correctly interpreted to be a laugh directed at him. "Well, I suppose I couldn't have done a horrible job. Were you actually asleep?"

"Hmm..." Ryuuzaki agreed. He took stock of himself and realized that he was still filled with a certain warm lassitude and was in fact smiling slightly. Stretching under Light's hands, he came to another realization- his body was reflecting his pleasure in an obvious way. Ryuuzaki resolved to not turn over where Light could notice. Undoubtedly, seeing the detective aroused would cause Light to recoil in horror, and the moment seemed too nice to ruin just for the amusement of seeing such an expression on Light's face.

Remembering what had woken him originally, Ryuuzaki forced his mind to operate. "Are you injured...?"

"..." A change in the weight distribution on the covers indicated the boy shifting carefully. "I lost track of time and the position is bad for this. My lower back is protesting. And my shoulders," he added in a sardonic, self-mocking tone. "The alternative was sitting on you for the massage, and I wasn't prepared to, so this is the result. It's no worse than when we fight," he assured.

"...Then it must hurt," Ryuuzaki decided. Light made a sound like a quiet chuckle.

"Ryuuzaki..." Light began after another few minutes, hands resting on the detective's back but no longer moving. "...What were your parents like? I-" Instantly, Ryuuzaki's muscles were tense again as the detective barely stopped himself from pulling away from the touch. "Ryuuzaki?" The surprised note in Light's voice made him try to relax himself, but he wasn't quite successful. "That can't lead me to your identity. Saying they were nice, or even neglectful, that isn't information that I could use," he reminded, obviously not sure what exactly had set Ryuuzaki's defenses off.

"What my parents were like is none of Yagami-kun's business," Ryuuzaki responded shortly, voice blank. He was only too aware of how Light's hands on his back were working as a lie-detector, impeding Ryuuzaki's normal shields of expression and voice.

"Ah," Light replied, and the word showed that he had gleaned much more from Ryuuzaki's choice of words than the older man had wanted known.

Disliking that, Ryuuzaki shrugged Light off, sitting up and carefully hiding the still-visible effects of the younger man's massage. Masking his anger as well, Ryuuzaki studied Light with blank eyes and bit at his thumb. "Why does Light-kun want to know?"

Light blinked at him. "You would do the same to me if I were the mystery, Ryuuzaki," he pointed out. "I don't really know anything about you and we've been chained together for weeks. I can pick things up watching you and talking to you, but it's still like putting a puzzle together when half of the pieces are missing and most of the pieces I have are conjecture. It's... frustrating," he admitted.

Tilting his head as he considered that, Ryuuzaki slowly dropped his hand. "...If Light-kun is still curious, I will tell him," Ryuuzaki promised. When Light's gaze sharpened with interest, Ryuuzaki continued tonelessly. "...After it has been proved beyond doubt that Light-kun is not, and has never been, Kira."

The righteous anger Ryuuzaki was expecting didn't immediately come- instead, Light gave a nearly-invisible flinch before pulling offended exasperation around himself. Fascinated, Ryuuzaki widened his eyes. Before he could accuse Light again, however, the boy rallied with a stern frown. "I don't think you're in any position to insult me with that, Ryuuzaki. If you're so convinced I'm Kira and yet you introduced me to Wedy and Aiber after working with them long enough to trust them with seeing you in person... I know that they're willing to risk their lives, but did you warn them you'd be letting be your prime suspect for Kira see their faces? Even under assumed identities that's dangerous for them."

"..." Ryuuzaki curled up more and returned his thumb to his mouth. "...If one of them were to die while working on this case, Light-kun is the only suspected Kira to have met them," Ryuuzaki pointed out.

This time, the expected anger was immediate. "I thought you said you were tired of Kira killing people you know- you're really that willing to sacrifice people you trust just to prove I'm some kind of killer?" Light snapped.

"Light-kun is so quick to become offended by injustice," Ryuuzaki murmured. "And so strong in his beliefs. Because of that, his percentage as Kira has raised ten perc-" By falling onto his side, Ryuuzaki blocked Light's first punch. The boy was too close, however, and the second scored Ryuuzaki's mostly-healed side.

Light's eyes, inflamed with rage, made Ryuuzaki temporarily forget to defend himself. The third punch caught his jaw and caused the inside of his head to fill with sparks. It also pulled him back into reality and Ryuuzaki pushed Light off with a sharp kick to the chest.

When he fell to his back Light pulled Ryuuzaki with him, using the momentum to send the dark-haired man through the air and off the edge of the bed. Twisting to a crouch, Light cursed when Ryuuzaki grabbed his ankle and flipped him to his back in a snake-quick move. Ryuuzaki followed and Light kept him off with a hasty kick as he scrabbled backwards over the covers to have more fighting room.

Ryuuzaki feinted forward, drawing a punch out of Light that he blocked easily. Twisting Light's arm above his head, he tried to pin the boy, but Light's kneed him in the side and he was shoved off again.

Light pressed his advantage, knowing the bed would make it difficult for Ryuuzaki to get his signature kicks in. After several more blocked blows, Ryuuzaki sacrificed his defense to get a punch in, allowing Light to score a hit at the same time. Eyes locked together, the two shifted on the bed, mirroring each other in a wary crouch. After a moment of tense stillness Ryuuzaki struck again.

Catching the detective's fist, Light smirked in grim satisfaction- then made a choking noise as Ryuuzaki followed past their hands, pulling Light forward by the collar of his night shirt and colliding their lips together.

Light's lip, already split from the punch of a moment before, began to bleed. Recovering from his shock, Light grunted in anger and shoved Ryuuzaki away with a curse. Undeterred, Ryuuzaki retaliated with another too-quick-to-see punch and in the next instant pushed Light into the mattress with the weight of his body. Baring his teeth, Light gripped Ryuuzaki's shoulders with intent to throw him from the bed again.

His hands slipped over still-oiled flesh, denying his purchase.

Ryuuzaki sank his own teeth into the younger man's shoulder and ground their hips together.

Spine arching and head thrown back, Light hissed a curse, nails digging into Ryuuzaki's back before they slid lower. His knee caught the detective in his side and Light flipped the dark-haired man to his back with himself on top. Straddling Ryuuzaki's hips, Light kissed him fiercely, tongue pressing demandingly into the other's mouth.

Allowing Light to keep control for a moment, Ryuuzaki dug fingers into Light's thighs and strained into the kiss, fighting for dominance there first. Losing patience, he rolled them over again and resumed their battle of tongues.

LxLxL

Annoyed at the loss of dominance, Light broke the kiss to bite at the flesh connecting Ryuuzaki's neck to his shoulder. Light gave a nasty little chuckle when Ryuuzaki cursed, before his vindictiveness was cut short by Ryuuzaki's hips grinding into him again. Legs wound around Ryuuzaki's now, Light pulled him closer on instinct, eyes closing as a low moan escaped him.

Breathing ragged, the two moved against each other for a time, Ryuuzaki riding Light through their clothes while Light lifted his hips to meet him. They kissed again, Light drawing the other's tongue between his lips hungrily and sounding his frustration as he dragged his nails along Ryuuzaki's spine. Rational thought gone, he gasped when Ryuuzaki's mouth found one of his nipples, wondering when his night shirt had been opened. His head rolled in pleasure, eyes barely open and gaze hazily taking in the ceiling.

A matched set of cameras looked back at him from the far corners of the room, their singular black eyes recording the scene dispassionately.

Heart stopping in his chest for a beat, Light drew in a sharp breath and his closed fist caught the detective in his temple. When Ryuuzaki slumped against him, stunned from the blow, Light pushed and punched the lighter man off of himself. Kicking him in the head for good measure, Light scrambled to the far corner of the bed and felt himself shaking with anger, thwarted desire and self-disgust. "Asshole! How could you- you knew Watari would be watching!" he hissed. Running his hands sharply through his hair while Ryuuzaki finally blinked in a dazed way and managed to slowly sit up, Light abruptly stood and stalked for the door. "I'm taking a shower. If you touch me again, I'll kill you."

"-Light-kun, you need the chain-"

"Watch the tape later, pervert. You will anyway, right? I'm not going anywhere near you." That said, Light slammed from the room and into the bathroom.

Closing the door, Light leaned back against it and took a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he found his reflection facing him- shirt undone, face flushed and a bruise developing on his neck from Ryuuzaki's mouth. It was noticeable, even when combined with the other injuries he'd earned in more conventional fights with the older man.

The cameras in this room were hidden, but Light didn't doubt that they were there. Not wanting Ryuuzaki to see how affected their little encounter had made him, he went to the sink rather than the shower, refusing to stand under cold water until his incriminating erection went away. Instead, he washed the remaining oil from his hands in the sink and splashed water on his face, thinking calming and unattractive thoughts while forcing his mind to stay clear of the dark-eyed and infernally irritating detective. Especially to keep it clear of what had just happened, and to make sure he didn't start to question why he'd reacted how he had...

Shaking his head with a frown, Light gripped the edge of the sink in annoyance, counting backwards from a hundred and working on logic problems to distract his mind.

After several long and torturous minutes, he'd succeeded enough to feel safe in leaving the bathroom. He considered going into the suite's kitchen area to get food just to spite the detective, but he found his stomach wasn't up for the thought and in any case he'd already brushed his teeth.

Reluctantly, he left the solitude of the washroom and returned to the bedroom, closing the door behind himself and frowning to see Ryuuzaki working away on his damned computer again. The man had his knees drawn up, so Light couldn't tell if he was still suffering from his own arousal- not that he'd checked, of course.

Sleep wasn't something he was looking forward to tonight. He knew that his mind would analyze their fight minutely, and for once Light wasn't certain he could easily handle having the day's mistakes replayed in detail. Especially the parts after he'd been pushed onto his back again, with Ryuuzaki's hips rocking into his...

Feeling his body begin to heat again, Light tore his mind back from those thoughts, looking to the floor and taking a steadying breath. Why had he ended up on the bottom, anyway? How pathetic was that? He frowned at the safer topic, pride wounded at the memory. Honestly, keeping the monkey-toed sweet-obsessed genius on his back shouldn't have been that difficult. Light must have gotten distracted somehow, lost his focus- not that he'd had a focus at the time. He'd been reacting on instinct.

The fact that his instincts had ended with him getting molested by the detective and enthusiastically urging him on did not bode well for Light's future.

LxLxL

"...What is Light-kun thinking of?" Ryuuzaki asked, having been studying Light for several minutes as the younger man stood in the doorway. Light jerked his head up to glare at the other man, but Ryuuzaki merely shifted slightly before holding his hand and counting off observations on his fingers. "When you entered, you became visibly uncomfortable and unable to look at me. This is a normal reaction, though there was a thirty percent chance that Light-kun would merely attack me again. Next, Light-kun seemed to become more angry at himself than at me. Now he only looks disturbed..." Ryuuzaki blinked, returning his hands to his knees. "...And now angry again..."

"Ryuuzaki. Shut up." Apparently ignoring Ryuuzaki's comments, Light stalked across the room and under his covers after turning off the light.

"..." Returning his gaze to his notebook, Ryuuzaki reluctantly turned off the security footage and shut the power off. He had indeed been watching Light in the bathroom- after all, even Light's injured pride and wrath couldn't negate the fact that he was the prime Kira suspect, and leaving him alone even for several minutes without Ryuuzaki to watch him would make their being chained together for so long worthless. "...Goodnight, Light-kun," he murmured, seventy percent certain that Light would continue to ignore him, or insult him again.

Instead, after a long pause, Light sighed quietly in a burst of condensed aggravation. "Goodnight, Ryuuzaki. If you burn the tapes from earlier, I might forgive you. I can't believe you tried that with Watari watching... That sort of stupidity is more like Matsuda. Think about that, Ryuuzaki."

Startled, Ryuuzaki tilted his head, bringing his thumb to his lips. "...I don't believe Matsuda-san would attempt to kiss you..."

"Don't be disgusting. I don't need to be blocking any more thoughts when I'm trying to sleep."

"...Light-kun is still thinking of earlier?" Ryuuzaki ventured innocently.

"...Of course, Ryuuzaki. I'm trying to decide how things could have gone so badly, so quickly. My actions weren't logical, or anything like me."

"I've discovered," Ryuuzaki spoke musingly. "That emotions and attraction are not often logical."

Ryuuzaki could imagine Light's slight frown. "You agreed that I acted illogically."

"As Light-kun just admitted that he was attracted," Ryuuzaki pointed out.

"Believe whatever you want," Light replied mildly. Which, in terms of their argument, was Light admitting that he was in check and would only lose if he continued.

Matsuda had nearly died, Ryuuzaki was once again covered in darkening bruises, and Watari had been witness to a lapse in the detective's control that he'd have preferred to be private. Kissing Light during their fight hadn't been planned, and the fact that his impulsive action hadn't caused Light to hospitalize him was nothing but luck.

Luck- or Light beginning to return Ryuuzaki's attraction.

All in all, he decided with satisfaction, today had been an unimaginable success.

LxLxL

Light was back in the bathroom.

He frowned, looking around himself. He was sure that he'd been doing something... he'd been going over what had happened, he remembered. It had been the tenth time, and he'd almost figured out why he might have responded to Ryuuzaki so strangely.

Which meant that he couldn't be in the bathroom now. He had to be asleep still... And so this must be a dream.

Which was impossible. Light didn't dream- dreams were a complete waste of his time. So, logically, if he were to have a dream it would need to have a purpose. Standing around in a bathroom certainly wasn't it, so he assumed the dream would have to become more interesting soon.

At the moment he began to become impatient, Light realized that something about the bathroom was wrong.

The mirror.

The room he was in was well-lit, but the mirror was dark. Why hadn't he noticed that before? Dreams were completely ridiculous. Well, then, he would figure it out.

Walking boldly forward, Light crossed his arms, studying his reflection in a challenging way.

His reflection smirked back at him in smug superiority. Light realized for the first time how irritating that expression actually was. Deciding he'd had enough of this, he sighed. "Well? I assume you're an instrument of my subconscious. Tell me whatever revelation it is I'm supposed to be having and leave."

Light's reflection laughed condescendingly and leaned forward, hands resting against the other side of the mirror. He looked around the lit bathroom with apparent curiosity and disdain. "Don't be so impatient. You know that dreams don't take long. Enjoy the time you have left."

Tension began to fill Light, and he couldn't pinpoint exactly why. He had his suspicions, however, and studied his other self narrowly. "Who are you? Kira?"

"I... am God," his reflection stated. His eyes shone with an insane conviction and self-confidence, and his smirk widened.

Heart beating faster, Light clenched and unclenched his hands. "There is no God." He spoke quietly, but his voice was certain.

"Yet," agreed Light's reflection, Kira. With feigned casualness, Kira looked at his watch, the twin of Light's own. This seemed to amuse Kira intensely, and he gave Light a secret smile as he chuckled. "It's almost time..."

Light frowned, but before he could ask what Kira was talking about, the scenery twisted. He found himself in a clearing surrounded by trees. There was something important here if he could only remember... He heard laughter, and spun to find a shadow in the tree above him, larger than a human, but his mind wouldn't quite focus on it. Just as his fear spiked, he felt a soft brush of wings cross his face and flutter over his lips. It had nothing to do with the dream, and the forest scene dissolved.

LxLxL

Waking with a start and a shuddered breath, Light sat half-up and stared down at his watch. There was a reason, something strange, if he could only remember...

"...Time for what, Light-kun?" Ryuuzaki's voice was toneless, guarded closely. Light had the impression that the man was afraid.

"What?" he asked, looking up at the detective. The man was sitting in his casual pre-Kira pose again, but holding himself tensely. Light rubbed his hand over his mouth, thinking back to the wings in his dream.

"You spoke in your sleep. You said that it was almost time... For what?"

Trying to hold onto the dream, Light remembered enough to know that if he'd said anything else the detective had reason to be frightened. Sitting up, Light shivered, rubbing his arms without thinking. He observed with distant humor that Ryuuzaki had returned the cuff to his wrist while Light slept. Very practical.

"It was just a dream, Ryuuzaki. How should I know?" Trying to reassure himself that his dream had just been some twisted representation of his fears and thoughts from that morning about the possibility of being Kira, Light couldn't help feeling shaken. But what else could it have been?

"Light-kun..."

Light frowned again, turning his head to look at Ryuuzaki and ready to show his annoyance if the man accused him again. Instead, he gave a slight jerk when Ryuuzaki lifted a hand toward his face and lightly brushed his fingers over Light's cheek to rest against his neck. Keeping his dark eyes locked on Light's, Ryuuzaki leaned closer, allowing Light plenty of time to escape or attack. Wondering why he didn't, Light remained frozen, body held tense and barely remembering to breathe. At the last instant, he tried to pull back, but Ryuuzaki had waited long enough.

The kiss was chaste but steady, and when Ryuuzaki pulled away Light realized he'd closed his eyes. Swallowing with some difficulty and wondering why he felt like he'd just run a mile, Light pondered if kissing the detective could possibly give him a heart attack. The man was unsavory enough... He took another unsteady breath and an analysis he hadn't been aware of making snapped into place. "...You woke me up. Did you kiss me when I was asleep again?" he demanded, glaring suspiciously at Ryuuzaki and ready to be angry.

"..." Ryuuzaki blinked. "...Yagami-kun had hair in his eyes. He was also having a nightmare. I only moved his hair away."

Thinking back to the sensation of wings, Light remained skeptical. "My hair isn't long enough to be on my mouth, Ryuuzaki. And talking around things like that is just stupid when you look relaxed."

"...You're very observant," Ryuuzaki commented, not seeming pleased with the revelation.

"Obviously," Light sighed. "Honestly, I'm amazed you woke me up. Wouldn't my nightmares just be insight into 'Kira' for you?"

Expression unusually serious, Ryuuzaki gave a slight nod, eyes intent on Light. "I'm even more certain now that you are Kira. Thirty... No, twenty percent."

Light's mouth twitched in a weary almost-smile. "That much? That's almost a conviction, coming from you. Too bad you still don't have any evidence." Staring down at his shackle, Light wished for once that he could sleep like normal people seemed able to, and not always, always be thinking. "At least this time you didn't say you were just kissing me to taste Kira," he joked dryly.

"...I thought you said you would kill me if I touched you again," Ryuuzaki noted, studying Light as though trying to read his mind.

"Hmm..." Light stared down at his watch, toying with one of the knobs thoughtlessly. "There's time for that, later." Sensing the sudden return of Ryuuzaki's tension, Light blinked, looking up at him again and releasing the watch. "Ryuuzaki? I was joking," he frowned. "I told you before, the investigation needs you, I don't want you to die."

"You may not, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki agreed, still sitting unnaturally still and keeping his eyes on Light. "But I am Kira's only obstacle. If your memories return-"

"There aren't any memories," Light snapped, life flickering into him again with his irritation. "When are you going to trust me?"

"..." Resting his chin on his knee, Ryuuzaki watched Light with something like sadness. "When everything we've discovered is proven wrong, and I have no more doubts about you." Ryuuzaki shook his head. "More than that. If I knew that the memories would never come back to you, and you would never be Kira again... maybe..." The detective hesitated, biting the skin of his thumb.

"You think I'd want to live the rest of my life under your constant suspicion, waiting for me to suddenly turn on you?" Light asked. "If you want me to live, help me find a way to convince you I'm not Kira. Everyone but you believes that I'm innocent."

"Everyone...?" Ryuuzaki studied the ceiling. "...I think that your own conviction is wearing thin. Your eyes aren't as innocent as they used to be."

"My eyes have never been 'innocent', Ryuuzaki," Light responded caustically. "Any more than yours have. When you can see more around you than anyone else, you don't remain innocent."

This comment drew Ryuuzaki's interest back to Light. "You still have conviction, and a strong sense of justice."

"Of course." Lying back down, Light closed his eyes firmly. "Just because I can see that the justice system is corrupt doesn't mean that I've lost all faith in it. It does need a reformation, but when I become the head of the police force, after dad, I have faith in my abilities to make it more effective."

He felt Ryuuzaki's gaze still on him. "...Still, that is only for the Japanese police, Light-kun. There would still be much injustice in the world. Don't you want to stop that, too? If you had the power, would you try?"

Light snorted, not at all fooled by Ryuuzaki's casual tone of voice. "I'm not Kira, Ryuuzaki. I think anyone would try if they had the power to make things better, unless they were corrupt themselves. But Kira's power carries too much consequence. No matter how you look at it, killing thousands of people is wrong."

"Of course. But if you did it, in an attempt to make the world a better place..."

"You don't believe that either, Ryuuzaki," Light informed him, frowning slightly before relaxing himself in preparation to sleep. "Kira's intentions seem to be good, but he's proven again and again that he's no more perfect than another human. He hates to lose, he becomes childish when provoked, he's killed for spite. He tried to kill you just because you challenged him..." Yawning, Light turned on his side away from the detective, weariness catching up to him again. "That sort of person should under no circumstances be in control of the world."

"But what if you didn't become like that until you received Kira's powers...?" Ryuuzaki murmured. "What if you were rational, sane... What if you were like you are now until the power changed you?"

"Then I was weak," Light replied, voice softer as he slid toward unconsciousness and tone absent. "And I'm not a weak person..." Light's weight settled more securely into the covers, and he was asleep.

Ryuuzaki watched him with dark eyes. "No, you aren't. But the power must have been stronger..."

In the hours remaining before dawn, Ryuuzaki kept his gaze on Light's sleeping form, trying to think of some way for Light to not be Kira and failing. Light was the only person who could keep up with his mind, his only friend, the only person he'd been attracted to on such a level. And somewhere inside of him were the memories and possibly the powers of a psychic mass-murderer.

For the first time in his life, he hated knowing that he was right.

* * *

The Stranger is by Billy Joel, and if you haven't heard it, give it a listen. This is the point in the story where we now have a plot, readers.

Comment responses:

MiaoShou: You called it, violent affection is my secret happiness. They usually seem to be on the same wavelength to me, which makes it more fun for me when they aren't.

OkageHime: I can't really recall how often I give L's thoughts- I know I do occasionally, later. Hmm... That's strange, I get into doing Light's thoughts more often I believe...

SonokoTao: Split personality? Older brother? Really? That's so funny to me. It seemed to just click in my mind when I looked at his difference when he showed up looking baggy eyed and slouchy that being around people and the Kira case would mess him up. Though I came to realize that part of that really is just L being L.

Deliciously Tormented: Did so!

Kagome-chn LP: I know! I was amazed. I had to double-check that when I was writing, but they're never injured. Huh. Therapist Misa is scary, annnd I also would totally fail genius chess.

BrokenDemonChild: I would, but the fic's already written, so adding things would probably disrupt the flow. There are four chapters left and I'm working on a sequel, so we'll see.


	7. No Thinkin' Thing

Chapter Seven: No Thinkin' Thing

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Rating: R

Pairing: L / Light

Warning(s): Contains spoilers for manga 1 - some-number-lower-than-7 but still including the Yotsuba arc, and however that relates to the anime.

This chapter ups the rating to an R. If the idea of Light and Ryuuzaki having at it like argumentative bunnies disturbs you, just read the beginning bits with Matsuda, and skim... About twenty pages... Oops. Oh yeah, and spoiler on Watari's real name.

Comment: I remember being quite dissatisfied with this chapter because of how stop-and-go it is, but you decide.

* * *

Light and Ryuuzaki weren't fighting.

This seemed wonderful- Matsuda was always happier when his coworkers got along, and the way the two geniuses would occasionally argue and insult each other with polite voices or smiles made him nervous. More than that, it unnerved him when they would walk into headquarters in the morning covered in fresh bruises or limping, pretending that nothing was wrong. He supposed they were just too alike to be able to live so closely together for long without getting violent.

But it had been almost a week now since Matsuda had snuck into Yotsuba, faked his own death to escape with the help of L and Light, and given up his position as MisaMisa's manager. Light and Ryuuzaki had shown up the morning after with more bruises and a few bandaids. Though he'd wondered what they'd done to need bandaids on their necks, it had still been normal behavior for them.

Until he'd noticed... They would talk about the case as much as ever, but if it was Ryuuzaki he was talking with, Light refused to talk about anything else. He was still polite to the detective, but it seemed cold. Before, even when Light was insulting Ryuuzaki, they had a connection you could sense.

Now it felt almost like Light was punishing Ryuuzaki for something. It made him think of a girl he'd dated for a while. She used to tell Matsuda she wasn't really mad at him, but she'd stiffen up if he touched her, and she'd smile in a scary way that meant she really was actually angry. He could never understand why, though, and she wouldn't tell him. It didn't make sense. If she wanted him to apologize, she should just explain what he'd done wrong in the first place.

Women were a real headache.

Matsuda realized he'd become distracted from his original train of thought and shook his head abruptly. Chief Yagami glanced at him and Matsuda tried to pretend he was really looking for clues on the Kira case the same as everyone else. Even if he didn't know what he was looking for... He sighed, and his eyes wandered to where Light was studiously scanning information on his own terminal, probably making amazing calculations and memorizing everything. Matsuda really admired people like that- he knew his own strength was his determination and his enthusiasm for anything he did, but he was aware that his intelligence wasn't at all at Ryuuzaki or Light's levels.

After a moment, he realized that while Light kept his gaze unwaveringly on his screen, Ryuuzaki would occasionally break from eating sweets and scanning Kira information. The detective's black eyes would slide sideways to study Light, or down to the corner where he had a camera feed running, zeroed in on Light. Light seemed to be pretending not to notice, but his lips were sort of folded together, and sometimes when Ryuuzaki looked at him he'd get that same look in his eyes that Matsuda's ex had.

If Matsuda didn't know better, he'd think the two were having a lover's quarrel.

He laughed to himself. This immediately drew the attention of the others and Matsuda hastily clicked at his screen as though he'd just been looking at something funny and was hiding it.

Chief Yagami gave him a disapproving frown, then shook his head. "I think we need a break. Ryuuzaki, would you mind ordering up food for us? I think I'll go to the roof while we wait. Fresh air sounds good..." He gave Matsuda a pointed glance, and Matsuda knew he was being summoned up for a private meeting where Yagami-san could reprimand him for his inattention without the others hearing.

Ducking his head and giving a pained, apologetic smile, he nodded and headed for the door. "I think I need some fresh air too," he lied.

Sometimes, he wished he could keep his thoughts inside his head where they belonged.

LxLxL

When they reached the roof, however, chief Yagami didn't turn on him with that disappointed look in his eyes that made Matsuda feel like he was ten years old again. He had his arms crossed, but didn't seem impatient or aggravated. Matsuda began to be confused, but hopeful.

"Matsuda... We've known each for some time." Chief Yagami spoke without looking at Matsuda, instead looking out at the view they had of the city far below them. Matsuda had a brief flashback to his fall from this very same building, and relief that his friends had caught him and he'd survived that night washed through him. He prudently chose to remain far from the ledge that chief Yagami was apparently admiring. Remembering his chief was talking, he snapped to attention again, hoping he hadn't missed anything. Chief Yagami glanced at him, seeming to understand that Matsuda's mind had wandered. "I know you well enough by now to know that you need a rest. We've all been putting everything we have into this case, but the Yotsuba incident must have been very hard on you. It's understandable if-"

"Sir!" Matsuda protested, horrified. Clapping his hands together, he bowed his head, prepared to prostrate himself on his knees if he had to. "Please don't make me leave the investigation, sir! I know I haven't been paying attention today, and I'm tired, but so is everyone else, and it- well, it's more that I just can't figure out what's happening with L- I mean Ryuuzaki, and Light-kun! I'll get back on the investigation right away, a hundred and ten percent!"

Years of being around Matsuda's tendency to nervously blurt information had adjusted chief Yagami to it. As such, he merely picked out the important details and ignored the rest. "With Light...? What exactly do you see happening with them? They've been getting along fine for almost a week now. We've been coming along in the investigation, and their bruises are almost gone."

"That's... well..." Matsuda shifted, glancing up before straightening awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck. "That's part of the problem, chief Yagami- I mean Yagami-san- I mean sir. I think Light-kun is mad at Ryuuzaki. They're getting along too well."

Chief Yagami furrowed his brow, studying Matsuda, and Matsuda got the impression the older man was getting a headache. "You think that Light is angry with Ryuuzaki... because they're getting along better than they have since we began the investigation?"

"Exactly, sir!" Matsuda exclaimed. He caught on to how that sounded at chief Yagami's sigh, and his face fell. "I'm not kidding around. Light-kun and Ryuuzaki always understand each other- you've heard them finish each other's sentences, right? The rest of us don't usually even know what they're talking about at first..." Seeing that chief Yagami was listening but seemed like he was about to interrupt, Matsuda hurried on. "So lately, Light-kun doesn't pick at him. He hasn't told Ryuuzaki to stop eating sweets, he won't even look at him, and when Ryuuzaki ate that wrapper Light-kun didn't insult him. When Ryuuzaki tried to pull him off his chair with the chain getting more candy, Light-kun just told him to be considerate and wouldn't talk to him again. And when Ryuuzaki accuses him of being Kira, Light just tells him to stop mentioning his delusions..." Winding down, Matsuda waited hopefully for chief Yagami's reaction.

Frowning at the list, Yagami-san finally shook his head slightly. "To me, that just sounds like Light is finally growing up. Ryuuzaki can act strange sometimes, and Light resisting the urge to poke at him is just showing my son's character. Not to say this case is a good thing, but... I think Light is really revealing the sort of man he's going to be," chief Yagami announced, gruff pride in his voice.

Shoulders slumping, Matsuda felt the rightness of chief Yagami's argument, but couldn't help thinking he'd noticed more than that... Still, what else would it be? Light and Ryuuzaki weren't dating- Light-kun had MisaMisa, for one. Matsuda couldn't imagine being gay with a cute girl like MisaMisa waiting for him. Though Light didn't really seem interested in her... But that was just him focusing on the case, right?

Unable to read Matsuda's mind, chief Yagami patted Matsuda's shoulder and started for the stairway. "It's nothing to worry about, Matsuda. Enjoy them not fighting while it lasts." He chuckled dryly. "Even I might start to get aggravated, if I had to stay chained to someone who suspected me even slightly of being a criminal. Light's doing well- amazingly well, under the circumstances. I wish Ryuuzaki would just take off those handcuffs... But this is his investigation. We have to remember that. Especially without the police to back us, we need to work together if we're going to catch Kira."

"Yeah... Poor Light-kun, though," Matsuda sighed, following his superior. "I guess being angry really is normal. I forget that he's just a kid sometimes..." Putting his worries behind him, Matsuda hurried to catch up with chief Yagami. He had just been misreading the situation, obviously. Light was only trying to keep a little distance with the detective. If he had to be chained to another guy, Matsuda considered, he'd probably end up with a temper, too. It might even make him too uncomfortable to act like he really liked MisaMisa, he realized. Everything was perfectly explainable.

Worries put to rest, Matsuda was smiling as they returned to the investigation room.

Still, when he felt the chill emanating from Light that seemed to somehow drift only toward Ryuuzaki, Matsuda began to feel a little sorry for the world famous detective. If this was Light being grown up about the situation, he was going to make a scary adult.

LxLxL

Unbeknownst to Matsuda, Light's freeze-out against Ryuuzaki was even worse when the two were alone.

Walking into their suite that night, Light crossed unhesitatingly to their shared bedroom, pulling Ryuuzaki behind him without acknowledging his existence. Ryuuzaki balked, digging his feet in and looking wistfully toward the fridge in their kitchenette. "Light-kun- if you could head that way- I wouldn't mind a bite of cake, as I won't be sleeping in any case..."

Dragging a reluctant detective after him by a chain without actually appearing to notice him was a difficult feat. However, Light managed.

Opening the door to their bedroom, he immediately closed it in the older man's face while pretending not to see him and still ignoring his words. Luckily, said door bounced harmlessly off their connecting chain.

Pushing the door open, Ryuuzaki chewed his thumb, used to this pattern of existence now but still confused by it. He tried again. "Would Light-kun mind if Watari brings me the cake, then?" His hand was jerked from his mouth by the chain losing its slack, as Light had walked to his dresser without pausing. Shuffling after, Ryuuzaki sighed silently, unlocking the cuff when Light held his arm out as though by coincidence. Changing his own clothes quickly, he re-secured their locks when Light was done. Light immediately turned toward the bed.

"Light-kun, I need to turn off the lights if you're planning to sleep immediately," Ryuuzaki pointed out.

The younger man glanced at the light switch as though he'd just thought of that on his own and he flicked it off without a word. Stretching out as if Ryuuzaki wasn't there, Light pulled the covers back on his side of the bed and got in them.

Refusing to get into the bed yet, Ryuuzaki hovered at Light's side, staring down at him and furiously gnawing his thumb. The last time he'd seen Light like this was in his original surveillance of the younger man, covering his room in cameras. The boy had the ability to act completely alone, to pretend he had no awareness of company at all.

Had Light known, back then, that he was being watched? To have avoided suspicion to that degree, he must have.

"...Light-kun is a good actor," Ryuuzaki murmured, hand dropping. Straightening, he put his hands casually in the pockets of his pajama pants, watching Light's face intently. "In five days, you've only acknowledged me when we're directly discussing the Kira case. During this time, you communicated with the others as you normally would- occasionally, even being more polite or praising than usual. This shows childishness, the ability to deceive others and manipulate them to your own desire, and great strength of will. My certainty that you are Kira is at forty-five percent."

After several moments of silence, Light sighed, opening his eyes to stare up at Ryuuzaki without surprise. "Believe what you want. I'm tired of being called Kira. I'm tired of your attitude about me in general, actually. You decided out of nowhere that you're attracted to me, and if you're going to be accusing others of childishness and trying to manipulate others, look at yourself, Ryuuzaki. I've told you to stop attempting to kiss me, I haven't returned your attraction, I've attacked you for kissing me, and you keep persisting." Sitting up again, Light gave every appearance of being calm and reasonable, meeting the older man's eyes directly. "I've spent a lot of this time thinking on why I responded, last time. It's obvious when I think about it from a distance- I'm still a young man. Normally I can think myself out of any sort of physical problems that occur because of that, but it's possible that the adrenaline from our fight just translated to the appearance of desire, especially with hormones being what they are. Do you understand?"

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling for a moment, Ryuuzaki processed that reasoning, then looked down at Light again. "That does make sense," he agreed. Light appeared to relax slightly, but his eyes were cautious. Ryuuzaki tilted his head slightly. "According to your logic, you have no attraction to me unless we're fighting, when your body can become easily confused," he clarified.

Light nodded. "That's exactly it, Ryuuzaki. You- Ryuuzaki," he warned, pressing back against the headboard and narrowing his eyes.

Leaning over him with one hand on the bed, the detective slipped his hand to rest along Light's jaw, thumb stroking against the skin of the younger man's cheek. "I'm testing your hypothesis. If you're right, you won't have any reaction and my pursuing you is pointless. Correct?"

Light's jaw muscle tensed under Ryuuzaki's hand, indicating the other man gritting his teeth. "Of course," Light agreed. Apparently deciding that surviving one kiss would be easily accomplished and worth Ryuuzaki giving up, Light tried to keep his hands still on the blanket over his lap.

He was only half-successful. When Ryuuzaki closed in to brush his lips over Light's, the young man reached instinctively to block him, defensive instincts hardwired. Resisting the urge to shove Ryuuzaki off, however, he settled for keeping his hand at the older man's shoulder.

LxLxL

The kiss wasn't as easy to ignore as he'd expected. Apparently, Ryuuzaki had had some experience with kissing- Light couldn't imagine who it would be with, though.

He tried to keep still and unresponsive as the detective kissed him, but pretending Ryuuzaki wasn't there was much easier when he wasn't drawing his tongue along Light's lower lip, or caressing his knuckles slowly down Light's throat. Swallowing and feeling his heart beginning to beat erratically, Light gripped Ryuuzaki's shoulder to help his control.

Ryuuzaki seemed to mistake the gesture for encouragement, however, sliding his hand to the back of Light's neck and pressing closer for a deeper kiss. And, Light thought, he couldn't really let Ryuuzaki win at _that_.

Meeting the detective's tongue, Light tried to turn the tables on him and win his way into the older man's mouth instead. Tilting his head for a better angle, he gave a determined sound and tightened his hold on Ryuuzaki before dragging his nails down the other man's back. Ryuuzaki tried to get closer, setting his knee on the bed, but the sheets and Light's legs got in the way.

"Shit!" Light bit Ryuuzaki's lip in retribution. "That hurt, your knee is as bony as the rest of you..." he chided in annoyance. Ryuuzaki chuckled, and Light wondered if he'd ever heard the other man even come close to laughing. Their kiss resumed before Light could properly analyze that, and Light moved his legs to allow Ryuuzaki to sit on the mattress with him.

Realizing what he'd just done, Light made an annoyed growl into Ryuuzaki's mouth and pressed the older man back into the covers. Using the blanket still twisted around his legs to keep Ryuuzaki down, the young genius bit at the detective's neck again. Satisfied that he was on top where he should be, he pulled Ryuuzaki's hands from his sides and held them trapped against the bed. His mouth returned to Ryuuzaki's and he smirked into the kiss. "You're losing," he warned, rocking experimentally against the other man.

Ryuuzaki swallowed audibly, heart beating hard against Light's chest and body arching from the bed. "No," he demurred, eyes intent on Light as the younger man lifted an eyebrow mockingly. "Kira will never win," Ryuuzaki clarified with slightly breathy certainty.

Light's grip tightened convulsively on Ryuuzaki's wrists, honey-brown eyes flashing with annoyance. "Don't call me that again," he warned.

"Why not...?" Ryuuzaki asked, straining against Light's hold to kiss him. Light pulled his face out of reach, struggling with the desire to hit Ryuuzaki. "...You could call me L," the detective offered.

That did the trick, as Light's remaining control snapped. His face contorted with rage as he rose on his knees to punch Ryuuzaki. Ryuuzaki, waiting for this opportunity, surged into the opening and followed Light to his back. Unwilling to let the fight degenerate into normal violence, he attached his mouth to Light's throat and slid his hands quickly into the boy's shirt, uneven nails tearing down Light's exposed skin.

Cursing, Light felt his hips thrust off the bed and against Ryuuzaki, arms wound tight and clinging to the detective's back as he exposed his throat to the older man's lips and teeth. "Ryuu- that hurt!" he gritted out, panting.

Ryuuzaki licked a developing hickey apologetically. "Bad?" he managed.

Baring his teeth in a vicious smile, Light pulled Ryuuzaki down for another kiss before sliding his hands across Ryuuzaki's back to trail at the hem of his night pants. Unable to currently follow the warning signals, Ryuuzaki made an encouraging noise and sank into the kiss. "You tell me," Light purred, voice gone husky and seductive. Ryuuzaki shivered at the tone- then, eyes widening, attempted to escape. Still grinning, Light dug his nails into Ryuuzaki's skin, one leg twisting around Ryuuzaki's to keep the detective from fleeing. Tearing his nails from Ryuuzaki's lower back to shoulders, he raised a line of claw-like welts on the pale skin as Ryuuzaki hissed in pain that went far beyond pleasure. "Well?" Light asked innocently, smirking in a vindictive way.

"That... was not what I'd planned," Ryuuzaki ground out, wincing at the stinging, burning pain from his back.

Narrowing his eyes, Light pushed Ryuuzaki back enough to give him a very suspicious look. "'Planned'?" he repeated. "I haven't been talking to you for a week. Even you couldn't plan this." Ryuuzaki merely stared down at him with the carefully blank expression Light had come to associate with the detective attempting to find an escape from a bad situation. He kneaded his nails against Ryuuzaki's back to get the man to wince and break his concentration. "Ryuuzaki. What exactly did you plan?" he asked, voice low and seemingly reasonable. His reason couldn't currently reach his eyes, however, and they remained dangerous and ready to be angry.

"...If I could get you to allow me to kiss you, there was a twenty-five percent chance that Light-kun would return the gesture... favorably," Ryuuzaki explained guardedly.

Light frowned. "That's a ridiculous calculation, but understandable enough, I suppose. I 'responded' before, and you aren't completely horrible at kissing. Was that the entire plan?" he asked, eyebrows arching. Becoming conscious of the older man's weight against him, he gave a subtle shift, unwilling to admit the awkwardness of their current position- Light and Ryuuzaki's shirts pulled to their chests, sheets twisted impossibly around their entwined legs. He wondered why everything hadn't seemed so ridiculous a minute ago.

"..." Ryuuzaki's mind performed near-visible calculations, probably taking into account their current positions and if edging for the side of the bed would be worth the risk of exposure. Deciding to attempt the opposite tact, he collapsed his weight more firmly against Light, face cradled against his neck. "...Watari was also informed to turn off the live video feed to our room if the situation suggested we might... engage in intercourse," Ryuuzaki admitted.

Having closed his eyes to listen more intently to the detective's words muffled against his own skin, Light tensed. His eyes opened again. "You told Watari to stop watching if were having sex," he stated.

"...Light-kun keeps repeating when I speak," Ryuuzaki murmured. "Perhaps his hearing- ow," he finished mildly, wincing as Light hit Ryuuzaki's ribs with a closed fist.

"I'm trying to wrap my considerable intellect around the fact that you did something so unbelievably stupid," Light snapped. "Now he's going to assume, isn't he? All we did was kiss, and if he actually listened to you, he's in some room thinking we actually- that I-"

"Had intercourse," Ryuuzaki supplied helpfully. Light punched him in the head this time.

"Call him and tell him he can keep watching," Light ordered, aggravated and blushing faintly. "Because nothing is going to happen. Ever, Ryuuzaki," he added icily. "Maybe you can try hitting on the next Kira, and they'll go along with you."

"...The next Kira?" Ryuuzaki asked curiously, unable to let that slide. He lifted his head enough to study Light's face. "Are you admitting-"

Light covered Ryuuzaki's mouth with his hand, glaring up at him. "I would accuse you of really being a masochist, but you obviously can feel pain. The next time you ask me that, however, I'm going to think that you enjoy being attacked."

"..." Ryuuzaki leaned up on one arm, brushing aside Light's hand and watching him more seriously. "At least this was contact. No one before you has simply ignored me, Light-kun. I didn't know how to react, and I was... bored. Talking to you allowed you to win, but even that became preferable to the silence."

Sighing silently, Light frowned, waiting for Ryuuzaki to move. "That was the point, Ryuuzaki. Your ego is at least as large as mine. We don't like being interrupted, being ignored or losing. Honestly, though, I'm just getting tired of you- we can't have any privacy, so the closest I can get is to just ignore you."

"What did you think I would do when you provoked me that way?" Ryuuzaki inquired.

"...I hadn't thought that far," Light lied, glancing aside.

"..." Ryuuzaki blinked. "Light-kun... that sort of lying doesn't work on me, either," he reminded. "You wouldn't start a plan you hadn't analyzed."

"I assumed we would fight, then," Light explained in mild irritation, giving Ryuuzaki a challengingly mocking look. "It's what we usually do."

"And the last time we fought," Ryuuzaki ventured. "Do you remember what happened then?"

"Of course I do, Ryuuzaki," Light replied, eyes narrowing in warning. "But for every fight before that, it ended when we were too tired to hit each other, or were forced to stop."

Shaking his head while Light talked, Ryuuzaki sat back, one leg on either side of Light's waist and dark eyes calculating. "No, there was another reason for your actions. It fits another pattern..."

Light sighed. "Whatever, Ryuuzaki. Get off me, and go tell Watari that you've given up-"

"...You were provoking me on purpose," Ryuuzaki explained, tone amazed. "My orders to Watari stand."

"Ryuuzaki- what?" Light demanded, glaring again as Ryuuzaki pushed him back to the covers and slid one leg back between the boy's. His heart rate picked up nervously, but Light gamely ignored it in favor of putting one arm against Ryuuzaki's chest to keep some distance between them. "I'm not in the mood, Ryuuzaki."

"In a fight, you wouldn't need to take responsibility," Ryuuzaki murmured, kissing along Light's neck and ignoring the restraining arm.

Not following, Light frowned, allowing the kisses while he thought. His arm ended up trapped between them, and Ryuuzaki his fingers along Light's still-exposed sides. He snorted at Ryuuzaki's inability to stay focused on the conversation. "Ryuuzaki, I'm still waiting for you to make sense," he reminded. "What exactly was I avoiding responsibility for?" he asked dryly.

"Wanting me," Ryuuzaki asserted. He attempted another kiss, but Light held him off with one hand, the other resting on the covers for lack of a non-Ryuuzaki place. "Now who's got an ego the size of Kira's?" he inquired. "That's an amusing train of logic, but if I were going to provoke a fight so I could feel justified or blame you for the consequent sex, there are easier ways than spending a week not talking to you. I thought I already established that I'm not attracted to you?"

Ryuuzaki gave Light a look that made the young man keenly aware of their age difference.

Resenting anyone that acted like they in any way knew more than him or thought he was being childish, Light responded with a chill glare, muscles stiffening. "That look really isn't helping your case, Ryuuzaki," he informed the detective. "Attraction is the farthest thing from my mind right now." Still, the thought insinuated itself into his mind. Had that been even part of the reason for shutting Ryuuzaki off? He'd told himself that the detective had just finally gotten too annoying to talk to, but really, he hadn't done anything worse than usual. The only difference was that Light had been left aroused and frustrated, and he had most definitely had Ryuuzaki to blame for that. Had he just been attempting to make Ryuuzaki as unsatisfied as he'd been? Or worse- had he wanted an excuse for a fight that couldn't be directly linked to him, that would cause Ryuuzaki to start the brawl, and give Light an excuse to be angry and self-righteous about getting something he had wanted all along...?

It didn't feel entirely true. But, like the accusations of being Kira, neither did it seem entirely false. The logic was sound, but Light hadn't made the decision consciously. It was convoluted and emotional, and not at all the clean, twisting plots of genius manipulation he preferred.

Honestly, if this was his subconscious' best attempt at a plan, he was glad it didn't have more control over him.

Refocusing on reality, Light opened his mouth to lie about the conclusion he'd come to- then realized that Ryuuzaki wasn't above him anymore.

Eyebrows drawing together in puzzlement, Light levered himself to his elbows to find the other man.

It didn't take long. Apparently certain of his logic, Ryuuzaki had merely relocated himself while Light was distracted inside of his mind. Face hovering above Light's still-exposed stomach, Ryuuzaki waited until he was certain he had Light's attention again.

Keeping Light's gaze, the black-eyed man placed a light kiss on the skin just above the hem to Light's pajama bottoms.

"Ryuuzaki- what-?" Light asked, frowning and unable to ask an appropriately annoyed question. Ignoring him, Ryuuzaki moved lower for his next kiss, using the seam of Light's fly as a guideline. If Light had been able to think perfectly clearly, he might have realized he'd never been quite so aware of the curious design in men's sleepwear that dictated the path to a man's crotch never be guarded by more than, at most, a button. Swallowing as his heart began to beat again, Light licked his lips. "Ryuuzaki. We were about to argue- I haven't conceded the point," he got out. The slight waver to his voice made him angry, which helped him almost regain his focus.

And then Ryuuzaki opened his mouth against the cloth.

As the damp heat closely enveloped Light's barely-trapped member, Light's fingers clenched against the sheets. Eyes closing as his mouth fell open, the younger man struggled to stay in control. "Ry- mm..." Shaking his head, Light tried to push Ryuuzaki away to think better. His hand betrayed him to wind itself in the detective's coarse hair.

Rewarding that instinct, Ryuuzaki curled his fingers around the hem of Light's pants. Regaining enough sense to realize what that might mean, Light shot his hands out to keep himself decent. An instant too late, the young genius cursed as both pants and briefs were pulled to his ankles. "Ryuuzaki-! That's going too far!" he snapped, covering himself hastily with the blanket and kicking at the older man. As his feet were still trapped, the attack was unsuccessful, and Ryuuzaki ignored the attempt in favor of crawling back up along Light's body.

Heart beating frantically with the adrenaline, Light scrambled back toward the edge of the bed, but his pants hampered his movements and his elbow slid on the loose sheets. "Shit-" Ryuuzaki took advantage of Light's slip to trap him again, nipping at his neck and resting his arms above their heads.

With this new position and Light's current state of undress, the hardness pressing into him against the thin layer of Ryuuzaki's night pants was unmistakable. Pulse climbing into his throat in panic, Light fought back on pure instinct, unable to kick but tearing at Ryuuzaki's back with his nails and thrashing beneath him.

Making a small noise when Light's fighting drove his hips against the older man's, Ryuuzaki closed his eyes, face buried protectively in the crook of Light's neck. "Light-"

The unexpected friction against his bare length broke through Light's rage. Ryuuzaki's voice was little more than a distraction as he gasped a breath and arched against the detective again. Fingers that had been intent on ripping Ryuuzaki to shreds a second before now clung to him like an anchor in the waves of teasing pleasure that shot threw him with the feel of Ryuuzaki's hardness pushing against him.

Dizziness and heat pulsed through Light in time to the rush of his own blood, and rational thought was abandoned in favor of primal instinct.

Time passed in a flurry of kisses, bites, and touching his mind had trouble following. Light's pants and shirt were discarded, and Ryuuzaki's clothes soon followed. The detective had the presence of mind to unlock their cuffs, and the chain was tossed aside with their shirts while Ryuuzaki bit Light's chest and the boy retaliated with a new set of scratches across Ryuuzaki's bare shoulders.

Light's world narrowed again to Ryuuzaki's hips rolling into his and the pleasure that was almost enough to satisfy him. He felt that there was something else they should be doing, but until he was suddenly bereft of the slender detective's weight pressing him down he couldn't think what.

"Ryu...?" he asked, dazed. Brushing his hair back with a shaking hand, he frowned to discover Ryuuzaki rooting in the drawer of the bedside table. "What are you doing?"

"Finding... hmm..." Obviously frustrated, Ryuuzaki shoved aside a clutter of candy in the drawer. "There." He pulled out one of the unused bottles of massage oil and held it up delicately between two fingers.

Eyes widening, then narrowing in realization, Light watched Ryuuzaki dangerously. "What exactly do you think you'll be using that for?"

Ryuuzaki blinked, staring at Light as though he must be joking. "...Lubrication, Light-kun. This is your first time with another man, isn't it?"

"Of course it is- I've always liked girls." Ryuuzaki arched an eyebrow, and Light gave an annoyed sigh. "You know what I meant. I've never had an attraction to men."

"Is Light-kun admitting to his attraction now?" Ryuuzaki asked. Light gave him a warning look.

"Logically speaking, this is only happening because of the stress of the case, and the fact that we've been chained together for over a month," Light argued flatly.

Curled up only slightly from the discomfort of being exposed, Ryuuzaki studied the younger man. "I don't believe that's the truth in my case. I've always been more aware of a person's mind than their body. If I were chained to Matsuda, for example..."

Light grimaced. "I don't even want to think about that."

Ryuuzaki nodded agreement, dark eyes fixed unwaveringly on Light. "Light-kun is my perfect match," he asserted quietly.

"..." Light stared back at Ryuuzaki uncomfortably, as the man's more serious side somehow still made him nervous. He fought the urge to look away and instead faked a smile and an awkward laugh. "Come on, Ryuuzaki. That sort of flattery only works on girls. Besides, that's ridiculous- your 'perfect match' is the one person you suspect of being the original Kira?"

Ryuuzaki nodded slowly, thinking. "I have to admit, I wish I had met you under different circumstances, Light-kun."

Not certain how to react to that particular conversation or statement, Light looked aside and searched his mind for a distraction.

Reaching out, he snagged the bottle of oil from Ryuuzaki's too-delicate grip and smirked at him. "Thanks. I would have forgotten about this- and I wouldn't want to hurt _you_."

Ryuuzaki widened his eyes and started slightly. "...I have to advise you against that. For your first time- I have more experience, Light-kun..."

"I'm a genius too, Ryuuzaki. I think I can figure this out," Light drawled condescendingly, flashing a mocking look at the detective and twisting the oil open. Wincing away from the scent, he coughed. "If you were expecting all this to happen, why didn't you have Watari leave something that didn't smell this strong? It was okay for the massage, but..."

"...I was worried that too much preparation would cause you to become more angry with me than willing to go along," Ryuuzaki admitted, blinking.

"..." Light frowned, staring directly at the older man again. "You have protection, right? I know I'm clean, but even if you haven't had any activity in a few months, I don't know where you've been before that. You seem to think you're also an expert on this sort of thing, which doesn't exactly lead me to trust your habits..." As he spoke, Light allowed his voice to become more obviously sarcastic.

Ryuuzaki arched his eyebrows. "I assure you that I am also clean, Light-kun. Though if you want, I can have Watari email me a copy of my last testing for you to read. I'm sure he wouldn't assume anything-" Dodging sideways, Ryuuzaki avoided Light's kick. Catching the offending leg at the ankle, Ryuuzaki turned his gaze to Light's sullen and aggravated face. Looking away again, he turned his head to place a light kiss on the top of the boy's foot.

Jerking his leg involuntarily, Light laughed. At the sound, both men stared at each other in surprise, Light holding the back of his hand to his mouth. They each tried to decide if Light doing something so unplanned was more or less startling than his being ticklish.

Cheeks slightly pink, Light cleared his throat, looked down at the bottle still in his hands and pulled his foot free. "I don't think an email will be necessary. Though you do expect a lot of trust out of others, for someone who won't even tell me his actual name." He glanced sidelong at Ryuuzaki to see if the barb would work.

It did- though not in the way Light had intended. He blinked as the older man crawled toward him across the bed. Irritated at the return of the clenching nervousness in his stomach as Ryuuzaki came closer, Light managed not to flinch away. The feeling wasn't quite fear, but Ryuuzaki being so serious made Light react on a level he didn't understand.

The kiss didn't help to ease Light's tension. He tried again to stay on guard, but something about Ryuuzaki's mouth on his made it annoyingly difficult to think. With effort, he kept his hold on the bottle of oil and remained leaning back against one elbow.

Ryuuzaki's hand trailed in a leisurely path down Light's chest, flowing across his stomach and dipping lower. Sensing the detective's gaze still on him, Light closed his eyes to avoid whatever expression the older man might have.

Unfortunately, closing his eyes sharpened his remaining senses. Fingers tracing through the light hairs low on his stomach made him swallow hard, and when Ryuuzaki's hand finally wrapped around his length Light arched involuntarily with his mouth parting.

He recognized the feel of Ryuuzaki's lips against his neck, kissing up and lingering beside his ear. The detective's voice made him shiver in surprise as the dark-haired man's hand slid expertly along Light's quickly hardening cock. "Light-kun... I'll give you my name when it's safe," the voice murmured. Which could only mean when he'd agreed to speak of his parents- when Light was proven beyond a doubt to be innocent.

Light's own suspicions that he might really be Kira spiked through him. Gasping, Light's hand clenched around the bottle of oil and he opened his eyes to glare at Ryuuzaki. "Stop. Stop accusing me of- ah..." He gritted his teeth against a moan as Ryuuzaki tightened his hold gently on Light's erection, shifting his grip and running his fingers over a more sensitive spot. Annoyed at the distraction and breathing more heavily, Light smacked Ryuuzaki's shoulder with his free hand, even as his head lolled slightly against his will at the pleasure pulsing through him. "Don't do that when I'm trying to- mm- be mad at you," Light tried to snap. Realizing that his voice had come out more sullen and breathy than irritated, Light frowned suspiciously at Ryuuzaki.

"Hmm..." Ryuuzaki's dark eyes had an intimacy and interest in them that made Light's breath catch in his throat. "I like you better when this is how you show anger," Ryuuzaki observed.

Light rode another wave of pleasure, eyes fluttering closed and another quiet moan escaping him. Holding onto Ryuuzaki's shoulder tightly as the older man continued to stroke him, Light swallowed and resumed his glare. "What- hah- what does that mean?" he demanded. "I'm perfectly angry..." Aggravated past endurance by Ryuuzaki's near smile and composure, Light pushed and rolled them over, mindful of the open oil. "This is supposed to be mutual, right? I can do that much myself," he pointed out with a smirk. Nipping at Ryuuzaki's neck, he gasped again when Ryuuzaki refused to release his hold on Light's erection. "Taking hostages," he muttered accusingly, thrusting into Ryuuzaki's hand without meaning to.

"Too much time spent around criminals," Ryuuzaki agreed unapologetically, his free hand sliding appreciatively along Light's back. "Planning to surrender...?"

"Ah... never," Light asserted grandly, pressing against Ryuuzaki for a fierce kiss that began with teeth as much as tongue or lips.

Aggression ebbed as pleasure rose, and Ryuuzaki abandoned his "hostage" in favor of holding onto Light as the younger man slid against him, grinding their hardened lengths together.

Glancing between them, Light managed a superior smirk before kissing Ryuuzaki again. "Mm... Mine's- longer," he panted smugly.

"Not a... contest," Ryuuzaki pointed out brokenly. "Stubborn like- ah- Kira..." he moaned.

Biting Ryuuzaki's lower lip in retaliation, Light became distracted with pulling the bit of skin between his own lips and sucking it instead, groaning frustration into another kiss. "...You're- just as stubborn...!"

Ryuuzaki's argument was briefly lost in another game of tongues. When he could breathe again, he blinked dazedly at Light. "...I'm wider," he stated.

Light attempted a laugh, but it was broken into gasping pieces as he pushed more frantically against Ryuuzaki. A moment later, Light groaned, hips jerking against Ryuuzaki as hot liquid spilled between them.

"..." Turning his head to study Light as the younger man gasped and shuddered in the aftershock of orgasm, Ryuuzaki licked his lips. "I won." His own hardness remained stubbornly pressed into their stomachs.

"Nn... Depends on rules of the game," Light argued distractedly, voice thick.

Over the scent of sweat and semen, a heady reek of herbs and flowers erupted.

"The oil-!" Cursing, Light jerked back, but his tortured muscles protested the sudden move and he ended up collapsing awkwardly to his back on the covers.

Saving the bottle from spilling its remaining liquid to the bed with Light's move, Ryuuzaki studied Light's form contemplatively. He smiled.

Unaware of his danger, Light remained where he was, stretching his limbs out with any self-consciousness erased in the lingering pleasure of endorphins in his system. Eyes closed, he wrinkled his nose. "The bed's going to stink, Ryuuzaki. Think... mm..." He yawned. "We can get to the laundry room without the monitors catching us?" He cracked one eye open to find Ryuuzaki calmly and pragmatically spreading oil on three of his fingers. Not functioning at his usual lightning speeds, Light frowned slightly, gaze following Ryuuzaki's hand as the detective next wrapped his hand around his own still-stiff member and spread the oil there as well.

Realizing he'd been staring, Light jerked his gaze away and stared at the wall, feeling flushed. He should have assumed Ryuuzaki wouldn't just be taking a cold shower after all of that- the man needed to release the pressure. Light cleared his throat so he could talk without fear of his voice reflecting any of his thoughts. "...I won, actually. You're left doing that, but I..."

The slick sounds of skin rubbing over skin slowed and stilled, and Light heard an unmistakable note of amusement in Ryuuzaki's voice. "What do you think I'm doing?"

"...You're..." Widening his eyes and then narrowing them, Light glared at Ryuuzaki again. The detective was attempting an innocent expression, but there was no real way to succeed at looking innocent when Light could read his eyes. "I'm not letting you on top just because I came first," he stated suspiciously.

Setting the empty bottle aside on the dresser, Ryuuzaki nodded. "The chain's off, Light-kun. If you want to, just run for the bathroom."

"..." Light rolled his eyes toward the door and contemplated the effort that would take. Managing to lift his hand enough to straighten his sweat-dampened bangs, he frowned at Ryuuzaki. "If you try to force me and I say no, it would be rape, Ryuuzaki. Do you want to give Kira a real reason to kill you? He was trying enough with you just chasing him."

Ryuuzaki stretched out alongside Light. "Is that a threat, Light-kun?"

Light frowned. "You know it wasn't. Just a question."

"Light-kun would not report the crime if I were to force him," Ryuuzaki stated, tone logical and unemotional. "You would see it as a weakness in yourself, and not something to tell others. Therefore, Kira would have no way of knowing unless you, yourself, are Kira." While he spoke, the detective drew his fingers with apt interest down Light's chest. When his fingers touched the sticky substance drying there, he jerked his hand away slightly and held it like he was thinking about running to wash up. Apparently deciding it would have to wait, Ryuuzaki wiped off the substance on a clear patch of Light's stomach and reached curiously toward the boy's smooth thigh.

"You're twisting your logic again." Snorting at the detective's obvious distraction, Light flicked his fingers against the side of Ryuuzaki's head. "And I know you well enough to know you wouldn't force me. So, we may as well clean up and sleep-" Eyes closing, Light gasped and pushed up against Ryuuzaki's hand, which had curled around his formerly limp member without preamble. "Cheating," he hissed at Ryuuzaki when he could think again, glaring at the older man.

"'The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war'," Ryuuzaki quoted in English.

"I don't think this is the sort of situation that idiom was referring to- ah-!" Light's annoyed response was cut short by Ryuuzaki drawing his fingers over the more sensitive spots he'd discovered in their earlier foreplay. "Will you stop that?" he snapped. "I'm trying to arg- mm-" Unable to think past retribution, Light gritted his teeth and wrapped his own fingers around Ryuuzaki's currently half-limp penis. A satisfied smirk curver his mouth as Ryuuzaki's eyes closed and the older man's mouth fell open in surprise. The predatory look in the black eyes when they opened again, however, was the opposite of what Light's instinctive vengeance had intended. Gulping, Light released Ryuuzaki to try holding him off, but the detective's lips pressed against his and Light's arm only hesitated an instant before sliding around Ryuuzaki's shoulders.

The devouring kiss and Ryuuzaki's pumping hand began to melt Light's distrust, and he almost began to believe that this was all Ryuuzaki had in mind.

LxLxL

Watching Light until the boy began to look less defensive, Ryuuzaki worked to keep a hold of his own hormones. The on-again off-again fighting and foreplay had his control at a breaking point.

Still, he waited until Light's hand at his shoulders was relaxed and only tightening occasionally from the pleasure. Kissing Light again, Ryuuzaki slid his fingers from around Light's cock, curling his hand between the young genius' legs to roll the flesh-covered balls between his fingers. Light's nails dug slightly into Ryuuzaki's shoulder before the younger man apparently decided that this was harmless enough and relaxed once more.

Ryuuzaki risked taking the last step and sunk a long finger into the tight warmth of Light's body.

Muscles stiffening convulsively around Ryuuzaki's intrusive digit, Light broke off their kiss to curse and shove at the devious older man in an attempt to push him off. "Ryuu- what are you-"

"Light-kun," Ryuuzaki gritted out. Apparently hearing the emotion in Ryuuzaki's normally flat tone, Light stopped arguing briefly to glare challengingly at him. It was an improvement. Ryuuzaki gave his finger an experimental wiggle and it slid farther in. "You need to relax, or this will be painful for you. Please-"

"Nothing is going to be painful. You're going to move your hand, _now_, and go to your side of the bed," Light asserted mutinously, clinging to his own control of the situation.

Ryuuzaki pretended to consider this, then shook his head. "I think, Light-kun, that that would drive me insane. And as you need me to lead the Kira investigation, it seems-"

He was cut off by Light's nails digging sharply into his skin, and the young man giving him a furious look. "Stop mentioning Kira!"

"..." Bewildered by Light's sudden anger, Ryuuzaki studied Light intensely, memorizing the reaction and Light's expression to analyze later. "...Of course." For once, Ryuuzaki let the subject drop without prying for more information, in spite of the fact that he hadn't even been accusing Light that time.

In response, Light gave him a startled and then suspicious look, distracted briefly from the alien feel of a finger stroking inside of him.

"'Of course'... You won't ask me why?" Light demanded, eyes narrowed. Ryuuzaki noted that Light had begun to calm in spite of himself, and that the younger man's glare had less focus than usual. He added a second finger, drawing them both out and plunging in again. A muscle in Light's jaw clenched against showing his reaction, and a bead of sweat trickled down from his temple into sweat-dampened bangs as Light's eyes briefly closed.

Kissing Light in reward, Ryuuzaki trailed several more light kisses along the younger man's jaw and lingered with his breath warm against Light's ear. "Kira isn't here right now, is he?" Though Ryuuzaki only meant that Light did not currently remember being Kira, Light shivered at his words and relaxed slowly in his hold, muscles finally loosened up enough to allow Ryuuzaki's fingers more room.

Ryuuzaki's third finger slipped inside, and he swallowed the small noise Light made in a deep kiss.

Finally, Light was allowing himself to respond, hips twitching slightly in time to Ryuuzaki's movements. His hands rested on Ryuuzaki's shoulder and upper arm, and an occasional murmur of pleasure would escape his stubborn control.

Ryuuzaki wriggled his fingers experimentally inside of Light and brushed a spot within him that caused Light's hips to buck from the bed, whimpers overtaken by a surprised moan.

Dark eyes absorbed every movement, and, satisfied, Ryuuzaki withdrew his fingers. The younger man opened his unfocused eyes questioningly at the sudden loss of contact, frowning at Ryuuzaki and apparently ready to fight. Smiling slightly, Ryuuzaki gave him a reassuring kiss. "Don't worry, I'm not stopping."

Light's frown deepened into something perilously close to petulance even as he tried to regain his breath. "Wasn't- wasn't worried," he protested. "Don't care anyway- mm..."

Ryuuzaki prudently cut off Light's blatantly false argument with a kiss as he draped himself full-length along the younger man. With only a bit of encouragement required, Light opened his legs to allow Ryuuzaki more intimate contact, arms sliding instinctively around the darker-haired man. Pulling away briefly, Ryuuzaki tugged one of the pillows across their bed, convincing Light to lift his hips after only a brief argument and positioning it to keep Light in the needed position.

In the moment that took, Ryuuzaki saw some of the blissful haze fading from Light's brown eyes and realized that waiting longer would delay everything in another fight. Unwilling to risk that, he stole another kiss and ground his hips against Light's.

Groaning, Light clung more tightly to Ryuuzaki, legs winding instinctively to hold him closer. Ryuuzaki's own control faltered, and he became lost for a moment in the simple pleasure of heat and friction from rubbing against Light.

A moan from Light recalled him to his original purpose. Untangling himself with reluctant effort and several more kisses from Light's stubborn hold on him, Ryuuzaki used all of his remaining will to resist sinking against Light once more. He had the feeling that this was an opportunity that would only occur once, and he wouldn't waste it without finishing inside the younger man.

The thought alone almost undid him, and Ryuuzaki swallowed hard as he probed for Light's entrance. Even with preparation, the ring of muscles resisted Ryuuzaki's intrusion for several frantic seconds before giving way, and both men cried out as Ryuuzaki pushed inside. Shaking from the sensations of the tight warmth pulsing around his length, Ryuuzaki hung his head, moaning Light's name.

Nails in his back brought him back to himself, and he blinked distractedly to see Light's face twisted in pain. "-sorry," he murmured. "Just..." Abandoning the apology, Ryuuzaki kissed Light instead and began to move.

LxLxL

At first, Ryuuzaki's intrusion meant nothing but an agony of over-stretched muscles and an uncomfortable sensation of being pried open. Faster than Light would have expected, the steady rocking of Ryuuzaki's hips against his began to translate as something intoxicating to block out the initial pain. He realized that it wasn't so much being pried open as filled when he was used to being empty.

He found that he could affect Ryuuzaki's perfect rhythm, and made it a game to dig in his nails or buck his hips against Ryuuzaki's for the sudden gasps and harder thrusts it earned him.

Ryuuzaki's fingers gripped Light's hips harshly after one of his playful tortures, and Ryuuzaki met the dazed challenge in Light's eyes with surprised pleasure. "Light-kun... You won't win. I have... a secret weapon..."

It took Light longer than normal to process the meaning of Ryuuzaki's words, and by that time Ryuuzaki had shifted subtly.

The next three strokes of Ryuuzaki's body hit directly on the bundle of sensitive nerves buried within Light, and Light was lifted screaming from the bed, clinging to Ryuuzaki with fingers and legs at the overload of endorphins.

When he regained enough awareness of the real word to feel his body, Light realized dazedly that he'd broken through Ryuuzaki's control. The older man's hips were jerking hard and fast into his, and Light's body had been responding without his mind present to meet the sharper motions and tighten around Ryuuzaki whenever he withdrew as though reluctant to lose him.

The pleasure was a building pressure inside of him now, riding an edge of something almost like pain. Closing his eyes to let his mind go, Light for once gave himself over to his body. He reacted when it wanted to and allowed it the mindless noises it wanted to make.

At one point, he thought he might have heard his own voice pleading shamelessly. A moment later Ryuuzaki groaned Light's name again and kissed his neck before he finally came as silently as possible.

Knowing what that liquid warmth spreading inside of him was combined with Ryuuzaki's last mindless thrusts to push Light over the edge, and the pressure broke into a flood of sensation that drowned his mind once more.

LxLxL

It was several minutes before he could think again, and Light opened his eyes with effort, wondering if he'd lost consciousness when he lost the ability to think.

He heard Ryuuzaki's voice, and blinking a few more times allowed him to focus on the older man's face. "Mm... wha...?" he asked with effort. Filled with scorn at that complete inability to be coherent, Light closed his eyes again and forced his mind to work properly through force of will, fighting against the afterglow. "...Couldn't hear you. What'd you say...?"

Ryuuzaki chuckled against his neck, and Light frowned at the suspicion of being laughed at. "Asked... if you were okay, Light-kun."

"Oh." Light let his eyes sag closed again. "Is that all..."

Ryuuzaki's weight shifted, and only from that did Light realize that they still had two separate bodies. Somewhere in the sex he'd felt they must have become smashed together, though that didn't follow any logic he was aware of.

With effort, he could even tell where their separate bodies were.

One of Light's legs was draped lazily over the covers, the other still curled around Ryuuzaki's thigh. His arms were still keeping Ryuuzaki close. When he breathed, he could feel that the other man was still buried inside of him.

Face flushing at that realization and getting dizzy from the new rush of blood when they'd just had such a workout, Light frowned in embarrassment and glanced aside. "Ryuuzaki- you're still..." He lifted his hips slightly to illustrate.

The detective groaned quietly against his neck and gave another feeble thrust. "Light-kun- not so soon," he admonished.

"You're the one who didn't get off of me," Light pointed out mildly, voice more thick and tired than filled with the annoyance he had been attempting.

"Mm..." Ryuuzaki agreed.

As more of Light's awareness returned, the young man wrinkled his nose. "Ugh- that oil... We need to get the sheets clean before we can sleep," he muttered. "...And I want a shower."

"...We could share a shower," Ryuuzaki offered.

Light turned his head enough to give what he could easily see of Ryuuzaki a suspicious stare. "Why?"

"...Does everything I do need a reason?"

"I don't know if it needs a reason, but I do know it has one," Light responded. "And if that reason is to try anything on me in the shower, think again. I get the next turn."

"..." Light sensed Ryuuzaki trying to come up with a solid argument against that suggestion. "...Light-kun is too weak right now to try anything," he offered. "Maybe separate showers are best."

Resisting a smile, Light pushed lazily at Ryuuzaki. "I'm glad you agree. Get off, the longer you lie there, the heavier you get. I think all of that cake you eat is catching up to your metabolism."

"Light-kun is admitting a weakness?" Ryuuzaki asked, voice feigning innocent shock. He moved just enough to look down at Light with slightly widened eyes.

Dropping his hands from Ryuuzaki's back to the detective's bony sides, the younger genius gave Ryuuzaki a 'you're pushing it' look. "No, only that if you stay there much longer, I'm going to have to punch you to save myself," he responded smoothly.

Ryuuzaki studied Light. "...Sex usually seems to make people more... pleasant, Yagami-kun."

Light snorted. "If you expected that to make me act nice toward you, you miscalculated. I feel good now, but I'm well aware that the pain will kick in soon, and I'll probably be limping around the building. Besides, I hate to sleep in a dirty bed, and I feel filthy. Also, I hate the smell of that oil. If we hadn't spilled it I would try to burn it. At least the one I used on the massage wasn't so- flowery," he commented distastefully.

Ryuuzaki lifted his gaze to the wall as though reconsidering something. "Hmm... Perhaps less intelligence is sometimes preferable..."

"Then I hope you and Misa are happy together," Light told Ryuuzaki evenly. "Move, I want my shower."

Finally relenting, Ryuuzaki slid out of Light and rolled to the side, watching as Light sat up and worked to hide the twinges his strained muscles were already giving him. With determination, Light managed to stand on his own, swaying against the bed before straightening with a wince. Liquid began to trickle from between his thighs, and Light felt his face heat again at the realization of what it was.

"...The chain, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki reminded.

Blinking, Light looked around the room. He finally saw one cuff laying on the covers across the bed, along with several scattered articles of clothing. His eye was caught briefly by a stain on the pillow that had supported his hips, and he gave Ryuuzaki an annoyed glance.

The detective appeared to have noticed the same thing that Light had, as he was staring intently at the pillow. Ryuuzaki was curled up again, nibbling in deep thought at his thumb and not appearing to realize he'd reverted to his usual habits.

"Take your shower, Light-kun. I will contact Watari about clean bedding. I can review the shower tape while I wait," he explained as though it were meant to be reassuring. "The chain will be there when you finish, as well as clean clothing. I may have broken several of the buttons on your previous night shirt."

"'May have'..." Light grimaced and rubbed his forehead, but the strong scent of sweat and sex decided him against staying to insult Ryuuzaki more. "Fine, do whatever is necessary," he replied shortly. He paused before giving Ryuuzaki a dangerous look. "And I recall that you didn't say you turned off our room cameras, only that you told Watari not to watch. If I find out you've been reviewing those particular tapes, I'll ignore you for a month, and to hell with the consequences."

Ryuuzaki blinked at him, mouth frozen on his thumb, and seemed to process that threat seriously.

Satisfied, Light headed to the door as normally as possible given the awkwardness of his current situation. When he was almost out, he heard Ryuuzaki speak as though to himself.

"Light-kun is learning more effective threats."

Light gave Ryuuzaki a last, sardonic glance before leaving without a reply.

LxLxL

By the time Light emerged from his shower, new clothes were awaiting him in a neatly folded pile on the bathroom sink.

Ryuuzaki was outside the door holding the chain delicately and finishing a candybar. He passed Light without a comment to go into still-foggy bathroom, and Light was handcuffed to the towel rack while the detective got himself clean.

Too tired to do more than casually bicker with Ryuuzaki, Light shuffled with him into their room, and they collapsed on the clean sheets with the window open to allow the crisp October air inside.

Light fell asleep within minutes, and Ryuuzaki, to his great surprise, found himself following only half an hour later.

His last thought before he sank into unconsciousness was relief that he and Light would still be able to fight. Even more than delicious cake or a solved case, his arguments with Light were the highlights of his day.

LxLxL

Early that morning, Quillsh Wammy, commonly known as Watari, performed his usual check of the monitors.

When he looked in on the room Light and L shared, he thought for a horrible moment that Kira had won and L was dead.

It took him a second glance and the zoom function on Camera 23 to make sure that he was in fact alive.

For the first time in Quillsh's long memory, Ryuuzaki was sleeping on his side, stretched out beside the sleeping murderer. Light's hand was buried in Ryuuzaki's dark tangle of hair, and their foreheads were touching. He'd known Ryuuzaki to fall asleep curled defensively, or even to pass out when he'd pushed himself beyond human endurance, but despite the transient nature of Ryuuzaki's other strange habits the young man had always been an insomniac.

Quillsh leaned gravely back in his chair. This fascination L had with Light might be a more serious problem than he'd originally thought...

Unfortunately, nearly unlimited wealth and excellent sniper skills wouldn't enable him to save L from himself.

* * *

This chapter gave me issues- it was originally supposed to have a ton more in it, but I realized that I was having a huge problem naming it because there were two really climactic things I wanted to happen, and it just wasn't working out. Plus, by that point it was already something like 16 pages without the intro, and in the end it's 24 without this bit. "Arguing, making out, arguing, making out, arguing and sex" is what this one is... Anyway, if you'd give me a thumbs up or a thumbs down and why, that'd be appreciated- I'm really not as satisfied with this as some of the others, but I don't know if it's just worrying about the sex scene or what. Sigh. I've read it through about three times tweaking it. As a side note, I thought sexy music like Zeromancer, NIN or Orgy would help me write the lemon scenes, but it turns out I write those better with bouncy techno and hyper music. Weird.

(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing is by Trace Adkins. Yes, it is country. It's also completely adorable. And a nice alternative to naming the chapter "Closer" by NIN, which I think has a slightly different feel...

Comments:

Deliciously Tormented: I've been trying to update every two days, roughly. Usually I post just before I head out to work, so I didn't go over this one as thoroughly as I usually do because it's long. Eh. You'll see what happens!

Moonya: I'm grateful for your comments, they made me pleased. I was also surprised more people hadn't come up with an idea similar to mine... I love Chief Yagami, I just didn't get to write him as much as I really would have wanted to, sadly. Other characters kept being more insistent about their points of view on the story's development.

Bob Da Peach: Your handle amuses me. Also, sadly, it didn't work. I considered posting when you said that but held off, using my powers of self-control.

momijikaya: Oh my, 6 AM's a little late to sleep, isn't it? (I've stayed up reading until 4 AM several times myself).

knighted lioness: That's a great idea! It was to gather information. I like it, it's a good excuse. That and just because L was bored, possibly. Maybe... analyzing how good Light really is...


	8. Slept So Long

Chapter Eight: Slept So Long

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Rating: R

Pairings: Ryuuzaki / Light

Warning(s): Contains spoilers for manga 1 through parts of 7 ( Ooh, but does it include that fateful part...? ) I'm still usin' the Orange Tangerine scanlation for my fic, so variations from Viz' version in bits that are quoted are expected. Parts of this fic will use quotes, but the content is mine, and I'll try to avoid being forced to use quotes as much as possible. I'd much rather be a smartass all on my own. Lucky you, the descriptions will all be mine. But man, I didn't realize how friggin' long the Friday that ends 5 and starts manga 6 was. And remember how I skipped that extra week or so back when Aizawa wasn't supposed to be there? Somehow, that magical week isn't going to affect the DN timeline. Just suspend judgement on the ability of a week to occur with new events happening but the same exact date. Though wouldn't it be kind of funny for Kira to keep waking up one day, Groundhog's Day style, killing new people to see what he was supposed to actually do? That would be fun to write, I think. Why is this warning so long?

Comment: I'm excited! We're into manga 6, we're rolling along. This is a turning point chapter. Like it or not, say goodnight to Light.

Same as before, comment replies are at the end. Now, on to the story!

* * *

"Light-kun..."

Light wrinkled his nose in his sleep, turning his head and mumbling about the Yotsuba seven. He had apparently been listing their known qualities instead of dreaming.

Ryuuzaki filed that interesting piece of information: perhaps Kira could sleep so well at night because he didn't actually dream. Truly, he was an intellect to rival Ryuuzaki's.

Shifting in his crouch and balanced lightly beside the sleeping boy, Ryuuzaki chewed thoughtfully on his fork in an attempt to get any lingering raspberry-filling goodness from the once cake-covered utensil. His dark eyes took in every line and curve of his new lover, and he almost hesitated to wake him.

There was a high probability that Light wouldn't be pleased when he woke.

Sighing, the genius detective finally banished the fork to the empty plate and reached over to shake Light gently. "Light-kun, you need to wake up. We slept in."

Actually, Ryuuzaki had woken at just past dawn with a headache from the several hours of sleep he had managed. For some reason he hadn't moved for another hour, when Light had finally turned away on his own. Ryuuzaki had lain for a few moments more, committing the lingering feel of the boy's hand curled in his hair to his memory before moving enough to turn on his notebook and tell Watari to bring in his breakfast sweets.

"Mm, likelihood of Midou being Kira is..." Light mumbled. He frowned again, and his eyes opened partway. A complete lack of surprise overtook his face as he looked up to discover Ryuuzaki already awake and scrutinizing him. "Morning already?" He yawned and rubbed his face, the chain clinking and hitting against his shoulder. "Ignore that, stupid question. What do you mean 'we' slept in? You've probably been awake for days."

"...Almost true," Ryuuzaki agreed. "Unexpectedly, I found myself unconscious at nearly the same time as Light-kun."

"Meaning you did stay awake to watch me for part of it," Light observed, mind waking quickly as always. When he lowered his hands his gaze was alert and ready, and Light gave a stretch before wincing and abandoning the idea. Arm around his stomach, he leaned on one elbow and stayed bent half-over the covers, breathing carefully with his hair hanging over his face.

"Of course... Are you all right?" Ryuuzaki asked, distracted from thoughts of Kira and nibbling his thumb in concern as he studied Light.

Light's lips pressed together as he resisted a sarcastic response. Instead, he looked up through his hair. "I'm fine. It's just a muscle sprain, Ryuuzaki. As you know." Gritting his teeth, Light sat up as though it was nothing and pushed his bangs back.

Ryuuzaki blinked. "...Then Light-kun should get dressed. We were expected at headquarters half an hour ago."

"..." Light gaped at Ryuuzaki, shock making him briefly appear his age. Almost as quickly, the surprise turned to annoyance. "You let us be that late? Why? What if they suspect-"

"...The probability of the other detectives guessing our carnal activities based on our being unusually late is low, Light-kun. You can tell them that I passed out and failed to wake us on time."

"I know that, but it doesn't explain how they won't notice the bite-marks, Ryuuzaki," Light snapped. "They may not be on our level, but they aren't idiots. Well, in general," he added in afterthought.

"Matsuda-san is an exception, but does have moments," Ryuuzaki pointed out.

"Few and far between," Light sighed. The two shared a moment of silent rumination, and Light shook his head, sliding from the covers and tugging Ryuuzaki along to the dressers. "I don't usually wear turtlenecks, but I doubt any of them will notice. Don't do anything like that again," he added in his warning tone of voice, casting a look back at the shuffling detective. Ryuuzaki widened his eyes in question. "You know what I mean. Don't stay up and watch me sleep and then pretend you slept in. I assume if I watched last night's tape-" Light hesitated, and Ryuuzaki took in the sight of a flush crawling up Light's cheeks as Light struggled to keep his gaze. "...This morning's tape... I wouldn't see you sleeping for very long. Especially considering the empty plate by us."

"...Light-kun is correct," Ryuuzaki agreed simply. "...Though it was longer than I've slept in some time..." Unlocking their cuffs so Light could dress, Ryuuzaki paused on his way to his own dresser to watch Light's smooth back appear from beneath his shirt as he stripped. Unable to resist the temptation, he stepped closer, hands settling on Light's lower back and trailing along his sides to rest warm over the younger man's stomach.

LxLxL

Shivering at the not-entirely-unexpected touch, Light swallowed and closed his eyes. He reminded himself that it was only Ryuuzaki and that he should be annoyed, not affected. Still, he allowed himself to lean briefly into the older man, even as he gave him a frown and let his shirt drop over Ryuuzaki's hands so he could cross his arms on his chest and look exasperated. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Hmm..." Ryuuzaki rubbed his hands in careful circles on Light's stomach, then settled them again. The warmth was beginning to get to the boy's muscles, and Light relaxed slightly against his will as the pain receded. "Helping."

"Don't you still think I'm Kira?" Light retorted quietly. "You should be delighting that I'm in pain."

"If Light-kun wants me to stop because I believe that he is Kira..." Ryuuzaki began lightly, starting to pull his hands away.

Light caught one of his wrists instinctively. An unfamiliar moment of hesitation paused him as his mind fought against his desires. Mind won, and Light stepped away from Ryuuzaki firmly, pulling his shirt off without looking at the detective. Rather than calmly folding it like usual, however, he set it distractedly on the dresser and changed as quickly as possible.

After waiting a moment for Light to change his mind, Ryuuzaki dropped his arms to his sides and strode to his own dresser. He changed without a word.

Light felt a twinge of guilt, muscles tense and stomach inexplicably uneasy. Annoyed at his illogical reaction, Light frowned to himself as he tried to understand what he was doing.

Which was, apparently, pulling the right leg of his pants over his left foot.

Light's frown deepened in embarrassment and he risked a glance at Ryuuzaki. The detective was almost finished. Hurriedly, Light corrected his mistake and fastened the button on his slacks.

At which point he realized he'd pulled on a tan scoop-neck sweater instead of the turtleneck he needed.

Was this how it felt to be normal? Completely unable to function properly? He wondered if he and Ryuuzaki were having a fight- a different kind than they'd ever had before. He didn't see why he should feel any need to apologize to Ryuuzaki for turning him away. After all, they were already late, there was no time for cuddling, or sex, or whatever Ryuuzaki had been expecting from him. Not that he would be going along with anything like that anyway- last night had been an extended lapse in judgment.

Noticing that he was making excuses, Light tore off his sweater and set it aside as neatly as possible, picking out the turtleneck instead and dressing properly.

Ryuuzaki was, by now, watching him like lab specimen with an interesting anomaly.

Trying to calm his aggravation, Light only allowed slight frustration to show, putting his wrist out for the cuff and then heading to the door when it was put on.

"Light-kun..." Ryuuzaki murmured.

Light stopped, giving Ryuuzaki an appropriately mild sigh and frown.

Ryuuzaki pointed down. "Have you also realized how much the confines of socks and shoes deplete intellectual capacity?"

Closing his eyes for a moment, Light dropped his head as cool air from the open window caressed his still-bare feet.

He wondered what else would go wrong today.

LxLxL

Light always believed that, out of anyone else in the world, he at least truly understood Ryuuzaki.

That belief had been seriously shaken a moment ago.

After Light had walked past the detective in defeat to collect to his socks, the two had gone directly to headquarters.

The cameras were in place in the Yotsuba group's meeting area. Today was the first scheduled meeting of the committee that the Kira investigation would be observing, and they spent the hours before it compiling information as usual.

After normal business hours, the secret Yotsuba group finally converged around their table, and in the hotel Ryuuzaki had built for the detectives screens showed the committee from several angles. One hand resting on the back of Ryuuzaki's chair, Light had watched with the others as the Yotsuba members calmly discussed having Kira murder the leaders of the Elf Insurance company which was attempting to set up an office in Japan that would cut into Yotsuba's profits.

Mouth open in shock, Light tightened his grip on the back of Ryuuzaki's chair, assuming without looking that Ryuuzaki shared his emotions. "Everything is as we thought... This must be it...!" he heard himself announce, gaze on the screens.

Rather than agreeing immediately, Ryuuzaki contradicted Light's assertion in a voice that seemed more avid than it should- the sharp interest he might display in a game of chess that was nearing the end but still had several key moves to play out to a finish. There was nothing at all of horror or surprise in his tone. "No, unfortunately, until those two who were mentioned actually die, it isn't sufficient." Calmly and precisely, Ryuuzaki outlined a plan to study the participants of the murder committee until the Elf employees actually died and stated that if they were to do this they would definitely capture Kira. He toyed with the spoon in his sundae idly while he spoke, not glancing at Light or chief Yagami as the two shouted his name in outraged tandem.

Trying to catch Ryuuzaki's eye, Light stepped closer threateningly and leaned toward him. He respected Ryuuzaki in spite of their constant fighting, and that Ryuuzaki could plan something like that was too cold for words. It injured the part of him that had begun to think that perhaps Ryuuzaki really understood him too. "You plan to let those seven kill somebody in order to get to Kira, but we won't let you," he informed Ryuuzaki harshly.

Chief Yagami backed his son, stating again that they wouldn't allow Ryuuzaki to simply wait and gather evidence from the deaths of two men. As they spoke, Ryuuzaki continued to toy with his sweet snack in a depressed way. He watched the ceiling in apparent disinterest as he avoided Light's gaze pointedly and argued his true point- that if they caught the Yotsuba employees now, they lacked any evidence to keep them. Kira wouldn't even necessarily be with the group, but he would most certainly be alerted by any arrests.

That was logic that Light could work with, and he felt himself warm to this new argument, speaking with reason and passion of the innocence of the Elf employees.

Ryuuzaki, of course, took the opportunity to ask if Light thought it was all right for them to die if they were criminals. Light snapped back at him, and their argument was quickly interrupted by the Yotsuba members discussing the fact that the first death would be within the next two days.

Ideas flew quickly between the detectives and Light, while Ryuuzaki held firm to his belief that if they waited they could obtain the evidence they needed to really capture Kira.

Surprisingly, Matsuda backed Ryuuzaki with something Aizawa had explained to him about the fact that Kira wouldn't have had to murder innocents like the FBI agents if there wasn't evidence out there to find.

In spite of that, chief Yagami pulled his cell phone out and reminded everyone that saving the Elf employee's life was the most important thing, even beyond catching Kira, and that the police had to be notified.

At this news, Light watched as Ryuuzaki curled in on himself, agreeing with chief Yagami in a defeated way.

The worst thing was that Light agreed with Ryuuzaki- he believed the evidence was out there, and that alerting the police and trying to arrest the Yotsuba group this early in the game could only ruin all of their work and cost them their best chance at Kira. But the only alternative was to stand by and allow two humans to die for nothing more than the advancement of a corrupt and homicidal collection of individuals...

Or was it?

Acting quickly on his thought, Light asked Ryuuzaki the chances of calling Kira on accident if he talked to one of the employees. They came to an agreement on who the least likely to be Kira was, and Light made the call.

LxLxL

Within minutes, the Kira investigation had a reluctant new ally in the form of Reiji Namikawa, and Light had masqueraded as L to convince Namikawa to influence the other committee members to put off any murders for a month.

As Light and Ryuuzaki watched the committee meeting draw to an end, Ryuuzaki chewed thoughtfully at the end of his thumb. "...Maybe after I die, Yagami-kun can succeed in the name of L," he murmured.

Leaning comfortably over Ryuuzaki with one hand on the detective's chair near his back and one hand on the desk to see the screens more easily, Light frowned chidingly at Ryuuzaki. "Don't say things like that. Now we have one month to find out who Kira is and obtain evidence to go with it. It's not time to give up yet."

Finally looking at Light, Ryuuzaki agreed after a moment's pause. He mused out loud if Light might be more capable even than he, as Light had come up with the idea to save their investigation and the lives of the Elf Insurance company's men.

Trying not to give away his tension as he waited for the answer, Ryuuzaki spoke as casually as possible with his eyes on the now almost-empty committee room on-screen.

"If I were to die, would you take the position of L?"

Within seconds, Light caught on to the reason behind Ryuuzaki's question.

Obviously offended, the younger genius explained to the detectives what Ryuuzaki had been thinking: that if Light were to say yes, and Ryuuzaki were to die, Watari would pronounce Light to be Kira. Someone as intelligent as Light, who could play the roles of both Kira and L simultaneously, would have nearly unlimited power if he succeeded.

By explaining everything to the detectives, Light asserted that Ryuuzaki could no longer believe that Light was only pretending that he had no memories of being Kira.

Hunched up in his chair, Ryuuzaki listened, impressed and nervous by the extent to which Light had read his intentions.

"You believe that I lost all the memories I may have had of being Kira, right?" Light reiterated.

Still wondering when Light had gotten to know his mind so well, Ryuuzaki remained curled up. "Yes, I cannot think in any other way."

"Ryuuzaki..." Light's hand landed with gentle force on Ryuuzaki's shoulder, causing all of the muscles in the detective's back to tighten at once and his breath to escape him in silent surprise. Whatever Light was about to ask him, Ryuuzaki suspected that there was a high probability it wouldn't end pleasantly.

LxLxL

Light spun Ryuuzaki's chair to face him, hands resting on Ryuuzaki's shoulders and face earnest and open as he leaned toward the man who had recently become his lover. "Would you think that after I caught the current Kira, after that... I would become Kira... A murderer? Do you see me as such a human being?"

Forced to meet Light's eyes, Ryuuzaki kept his expression at its most blank. He spoke as clearly and simply as Light had. "I think so and I can see you as such."

Light closed his eyes for the moment it took the sharp stab of betrayal and hurt to transform into anger.

The moment ended, he took a breath, and his fist slammed solidly into Ryuuzaki's nose at the same instant the heel of Ryuuzaki's foot connected with Light's cheekbone.

LxLxL

Matsuda interrupted the fight almost as soon as it began, and Ryuuzaki and Light agreed to return to the investigation in the interest of time. "Returning to the investigation" apparently meant a continued attempt on chief Yagami's part to convince Ryuuzaki to go along with the older detective's plan of arresting the Yotsuba committee members. Listening and responding listlessly with half an ear on the conversation, Ryuuzaki concentrated on his thoughts.

He had never hidden his intention to stop the Kira murders at any cost. To the contrary, that had always been at the front of his actions, and it was one reason the other detectives were able to tolerate his often bizarre behavior.

He didn't think he had any need to apologize for that. At the same time, he had never made it a secret that Light had always been his primary suspect as the original Kira. Both of these facts were solid, and neither were things he felt any guilt about.

It was regretful that being told the obvious should have hurt Light, but unavoidable. Ryuuzaki had come to terms with the fact that the mind he had fallen for was in all likelihood owned by a murderous and megalomaniacal individual, even as it shared a skull in common with the Light he'd come to think of as his only friend.

The sooner that Light could accept this as well, the better.

Ryuuzaki would have suspected that Light was agreeing with his father just to be irritating, but he knew that it was worse than that: Light's staunch insistence on morality and his personal sense of righteousness were for once interfering with the investigation rather than assisting it. Ryuuzaki had argued, in every way he could, that it was too early in the investigation to decide that Kira must be one of the seven Yotsuba employees and wasn't merely helping them. As he mulled his thoughts over, the dark-haired genius slowly added sugar cubes to his tea.

He could accept that chief Yagami and the detectives would refuse to understand. Now that they had lost their connections to the police force, they were useful for a simpler point of view or as extra hands when tedious work was needed, but on the whole their insights weren't consistent enough to make it worth the time he wasted arguing or explaining obvious facts that he and Light could determine intuitively.

So he informed chief Yagami that he would be operating alone to find Kira. Predictably, the man continued with his attempts to win Ryuuzaki over. Ryuuzaki tuned him out to concentrate more fully on his own thoughts.

If he needed to, Ryuuzaki could create a plan to lure the detectives back to his side. He couldn't really think why he might want to, but he assumed that they would probably gravitate back to him eventually if they didn't ruin the investigation first.

Losing Light as a teammate, however, would be a serious blow. With the boy's help, his pace was more than doubled, as Light could take Ryuuzaki's ideas without needing explanation and show him parts of his plans he wouldn't have thought of on his own. There was something satisfying in working alongside Light on such an interesting case, and he suspected that without Light he would have given up long ago.

If he needed Light, there were ways to catch him. After all, as the younger man insisted, Light was not the sociopath that Kira was and he had a sense of strongly developed right and wrong which should be easy enough to manipulate to Ryuuzaki's advantage.

With that much decided, Ryuuzaki only needed to improvise a plan. He should be able to think of that on the way to Misa's room.

Dropping the sugar cube he'd been holding back into its dish, Ryuuzaki stood abruptly, abandoning both his untouched tea and the conversation without care and heading for the door as Light, protesting, was pulled along with him.

LxLxL

Misa was bored, sitting on the couch in her room and flipping through a magazine she'd read three times already. This one had an interview with Misa in it, and she thought she could cut it out for Light later and show him, but she wished they'd had a better picture of her inside. It made her face look all funny, and they used a color for the background that totally clashed with her outfit. Misa thought that maybe she should look into helping magazines with their layouts and picture-choices, too. This magazine could use it.

A faint beeping caught her trained ear, and Misa looked up with an expectant smile, ignoring Ryuuzaki to watch her love enter the room. "Light! Is today a date-okay day?" She opened her mouth to pout and complain about having Ryuuzaki along, but her girlfriend senses were tingling. Sitting up and dropping the magazine aside, she glanced between them. "Liiight! If you need to kiss someone, you should ask Misa! Misa is your girlfriend, not him!"

This seemed to actually surprise both geniuses, as Ryuuzaki froze on his determined way toward her and met Light's wide-eyed gaze. Swinging his dark eyes back to Misa, Ryuuzaki put his thumb to his mouth. "...I have no idea what Misa-san is referring to, but it would be interesting to hear your logic," he offered kindly. Light seemed to be recovering, as he shot Ryuuzaki a venomous frown.

Hopping up, Misa ran to Light and wound herself around his right arm possessively. "Misa isn't stupid! Light is wonderful, and Ryuuzaki has been with him more than Misa is allowed to, and Ryuuzaki sleeps with Light-"

"In the same bed, Misa, but the chain wouldn't stretch," Light protested, but she gave him a look that stated she thought he was being ridiculous with that argument. Especially since his cheeks were ever-so-faintly pink.

Not wanting him to be mad at her for acting that way, Misa hugged his arm and cuddled him, continuing quickly. "And Light never wears turtlenecks, even though they look amazing on him, and Ryuuzaki has marks all over his neck." Pouting, she stood on tip-toe to lean into Light with her hands behind his neck. "You could leave marks on Misa!" The idea made her shiver with delight, and she hugged him again. "You can do it now if you want!"

"M- Misa!" Light protested, embarrassed as usual when she got overly affectionate and he actually noticed. Light attempted to pry her arms from his neck and push her gently off, but she knew it would take a few minutes for him to actually get annoyed and it made her happy to be close to him.

"Interesting..." she heard Ryuuzaki murmur. When she turned her head, she discovered the detective leaning weirdly close to her, and she recoiled as much as she could while remaining attached to Light. "Misa-san, do you love Light-kun?"

Blushing at the direct question, Misa still met his eyes with determination. "Yes. Very much. And even if you do too, you can't have him, because Light is Misa's Light and-"

"Misa, please," Light sighed.

"Yagami-kun, please don't interrupt," Ryuuzaki stated. Misa bristled when she felt Light tense, and she glared at Ryuuzaki protectively. She wouldn't just let that raccoon-eyed man chained to her Light get away with ordering him around like they were equals. Ryuuzaki leaned even closer, and Misa resisted the urge to shy away more, instead holding Light more tightly. "You love Light-kun, yet you also admire Kira. Between them, who would you choose?"

Misa blinked, then smiled up at Light. She had thought Ryuuzaki was supposed to be some sort of genius too, but he asked stupid questions. "Light, of course! I thank Kira and I would like to meet him, but I don't love him. It would definitely be Light."

"Light-kun wishes to capture him. Isn't that right, Light-kun?" Ryuuzaki asked. Bent close to Misa, Ryuuzaki turned his face up to look at Light.

"This sort of manipulation is too ridiculous, even for you," Light informed Ryuuzaki flatly. When the creepy detective didn't blink, Light sighed in annoyance. "Yes, that's obvious, isn't it? Of course I want to capture Kira."

Ryuuzaki nodded, apparently not having heard Light's insult. His dead black eyes turned back to Misa and he leaned way into her personal space. Pulling away almost to the point of losing her hold on Light, Misa lifted one hand to hold him off. "If Light wants to capture him, I think he should be captured as well."

Ryuuzaki kept asking ridiculous questions that made no sense to Misa, like who was Ryuuzaki, and who was L, and if she would help with the investigation if she could to be of use to Light. After that, though, he started to talk about a really complicated plan with some people she didn't know helping her to fool the Yotsuba businessmen.

Misa began to think that maybe Ryuuzaki wasn't as stupid as she'd thought. After all, Light actually listened to him and he trusted Misa to help Light. She wouldn't be stuck in her room except for work- she would get out, and do something really useful!

Ryuuzaki finally paused after outlining his plan. He still wasn't really looking at either of them- maybe he just liked to talk to walls when he thought? He was a really weird man.

"That sounds interesting, even though I haven't forgiven you for kissing Light, too, but... um..." Misa tilted her head up to study Light. He didn't seem happy with the plan, or with Ryuuzaki, but Misa thought it was a solid plan. Still, if Light said no, she would be good. "Light, you really want to capture Kira, right...?"

"...Yes, that is true. I want to capture Kira, but this is no good," Light told her seriously.

Blinking, Misa cocked her head. "Why?"

"Obviously, because it puts you in a dangerous situation."

Bubbly joy filled her, and Misa threw out her arms with a smile. "You're concerned for my safety? Yay!" Putting her hands together and almost wriggling with her happiness, she looked up at Light adoringly. She assured Light that if it were for his sake, she would risk it.

Light tried to argue, warning of several things that could go wrong, including capture and death. Ryuuzaki seemed to beat him at every point, however, and Misa only became more determined to help. When Ryuuzaki praised Misa for having the greatest love in the world for Light and told her that she was a worthy woman, Misa's misgivings about the eccentric man disappeared. Amazed to find someone who understood her so well, Misa threw her arms around Ryuuzaki and kissed his cheek.

"Ryuuzaki- that's enough!"

The anger in Light's voice was almost touchable, and Misa looked over at him curiously. He was glaring at Ryuuzaki. Was he jealous? Smiling, Misa went to reassure him, but Light walked past her to grab the collar of Ryuuzaki's shirt and haul him roughly toward the door. Misa's disappointment was smothered by her happiness, and she waved at Light as the two men left. "By~e!" she called. "Come back soon, Light! This wasn't a real date-day yet!"

LxLxL

"What seems to be the problem, Light-kun?" Ryuuzaki requested blandly.

This was the third time he'd asked. Light was still ignoring him, dragging Ryuuzaki determinedly through the hallways and out the elevator until they reached their suite and had the door safely closed on any cameras his father might have access to.

As soon as the door closed, Light slammed Ryuuzaki against it, fist clenched in the front of the detective's annoyingly baggy shirt and pressed close to Ryuuzaki's annoyingly expressionless face. "You know damn well what the problem is," Light hissed.

Ryuuzaki arched nearly invisible eyebrows in mock confusion. "It was Misa-san's choice to kiss me, Light-kun. If you were jealous-"

Light pulled him away, then hit him against the door again, control barely there. "That's not what I was talking about, Ryuuzaki. I know what you were doing. You can't risk Misa's life just to make me help you."

"I wasn't aware of doing that," Ryuuzaki replied tonelessly. His face was shut off again, and Light found himself missing the aggravating Ryuuzaki that relaxed around him, or at least attempted to. "If you see any flaws with my plan, or have some alternate suggestions, I am open to hear them. As it is, I am trying to use what resources are left to me in an attempt to finish this investigation. Now, if you would move, I am on a time limit-" he lifted one hand to brush Light aside, but Light refused to move.

"You aren't allowed to leave in the middle of a fight," Light told him in a tone that left no room for argument. He narrowed his eyes, relaxing his hold on Ryuuzaki only because his hand was beginning to sprain from being in a fist for so long. "You could have thought of something that didn't involve putting Misa in danger. We agreed to risk our lives to get Kira, she didn't."

"Do you think she wasn't serious?" Ryuuzaki asked without inflection, studying Light absently. "I believe that Misa-san would risk anything to help you, Light-kun. Just as the second Kira would risk anything for-" Ryuuzaki cut off with a strangled noise, as Light's lower arm was now across his neck and tilting his chin back.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Light snapped. Releasing Ryuuzaki abruptly, Light turned and walked several steps away while Ryuuzaki rubbed his throat. "I don't believe that you thinking of a plan that involves Misa is only a coincidence, Ryuuzaki. What I don't understand is exactly how pathetic you are right now. Either you just wanted me to be back on your team, so you invented this entire plan for that purpose, or you're mad at me for pulling away from you this morning, so you're trying to make me angry."

"..." Ryuuzaki went still, and Light recognized his expression as the other man analyzing Light's words to see if they had any truth. The detective blinked after a moment and put his hands into his pockets, slouching against the door. "...Having Light-kun on my side provides our investigation with the strongest chance of capturing Kira and ending the murders," Ryuuzaki finally admitted, looking at the ceiling to avoid Light's eyes. "Light-kun always expresses concerns over sacrificing others, so involving Amane-san was the fastest way to achieve my immediate goal. However," he added, cutting off Light's impending attack. His gaze dropped back to Light, spearing Light and making the younger man strangely self-conscious. Pushing away from the wall, Ryuuzaki stood straighter and paced slowly toward Light, still watching him intently. "My plan is still solid, however it was conceived. If Misa-san agrees to risk her life, she should be allowed to assist the man she loves, correct?"

Light took a half-step back before stopping himself and holding his ground. "...Correct," he concurred reluctantly. "If she agrees, I can't really stop her. Only if she's been provided with all of the risks, though," he added warningly, eyes narrowed again. "I won't let her go near Yotsuba again if she's only doing it because you told her it was that or letting Kira kill the both of us, and then told her how wonderful she is for being convinced she loves me."

The corner of Ryuuzaki's mouth lifted in a small smile, and he was almost to Light. Raising his chained hand, he gently brushed Light's bangs aside. The chain fell briefly against Light's arm, and the younger man jerked at the unexpected contact before holding still once more. His eyes never left Ryuuzaki's.

"We're even for today, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki asserted quietly. "I was angry with you this morning for being able to pull away. You were angry with me when I told you that I still believe you are Kira." He let his fingers drift from Light's hair and down his neck.

"I don't think you can compare your being annoyed that I wouldn't let you molest me when we were already late with you being convinced that I'm a murderer with selective amnesia," Light responded dryly. He caught Ryuuzaki's wrist and frowned, watching the older man and trying to understand him. "...Why are you still pursuing... whatever it is you want from me, if you still believe that I'm Kira?"

"...Light-kun..." Ryuuzaki studied Light intensely, and something in his gaze was almost melancholy in its absolute seriousness. "I will always believe that you are Kira. The evidence is too great..." When Light began to pull away with an exasperated frown, Ryuuzaki stepped after him and kept one hand firmly on the younger man's shoulder. "But," he continued, "We've all been risking our lives since we began working closely together. Whatever I do, you're going to be a risk to my life as long as I'm chasing Kira. At the same time, Light-kun is my only friend. I value our time together, even though it will end whenever your memories return, if they do."

"..." Light looked aside with a frown and a delicate snort. "You 'value our time'... People don't say things like that, Ryuuzaki..."

Ryuuzaki shrugged, dropping his hand from Light's shoulder. "As Light-kun has informed me, I am eccentric and impossible."

"That is true," Light agreed dryly. "Which doesn't excuse your earlier attempt at using my morality against me to help you. For someone so focused on catching Kira, you don't seem to place a strong value on human life yourself, Ryuuzaki."

"The power of Kira has already killed thousands of people," Ryuuzaki pointed out. "Capturing and stopping Kira is worth all of our lives. I don't disregard the sacrifices that have already been made- I believe that Kira should be made to pay for his sins. No..." Ryuuzaki lifted his thumb thoughtfully to his lips. "I believe that all of the Kira should pay. In the eyes of the law, that payment will be with their lives."

Clenching and unclenching one hand, Light forced an incredulous smile to a face that felt strangely stiff. "Ryuuzaki... That's going farther than accusing me of being Kira. You're telling me to my face that you think I should die for crimes you admit that I don't even have a memory of."

"Yes." Ryuuzaki nodded, and his black eyes were unreadable. "...Light-kun." He shuffled a half-step forward to rest his hand against Light's jaw, but Light jerked away with a warning frown. Ryuuzaki let him be, but his gaze stayed with hypnotic intensity on Light's. "Do you believe that Kira should die?"

Sensing the trap, Light spoke guardedly. "Of course I do, Ryuuzaki. Kira is too dangerous to keep in a prison, or to allow to stay alive. Especially with what we know of the first Kira... He would be too intelligent and too powerful to trust."

"I also believe that," Ryuuzaki agreed, and there was definite sadness in his dark eyes now. Light found his gaze drawn to the chain between them, blatant reminder of exactly how much the detective trusted Light. His jaw tightened angrily and he looked to Ryuuzaki again.

"Ryuuzaki, I'm not Kira," Light informed him firmly, willing Ryuuzaki to believe for once. "Whatever the evidence..."

"You may be convinced of that, but I am not," Ryuuzaki interrupted with quiet finality. "You agree that Kira should be caught and killed. Do you also believe that Yagami-san's path is the best to achieve that goal?"

Staring at Ryuuzaki incredulously, Light furrowed his brows, surprised out of his anger. "You're still trying to get me on your side? Ryuuzaki..." He sighed, crossing his arms on his chest and giving the older man an exasperated look. "You need to work on your social skills. Trying to convince me to condemn myself to death isn't the best way to get me on your side and wanting to work with you again."

"..." Ryuuzaki looked to the ceiling, then back to Light. "...I will keep that in mind," he offered. "But my question stands."

Taking his own moment to pause and consider his options, Light eventually sighed. "Arresting the Yotsuba committee this early would most likely destroy our progress so far," he admitted reluctantly. "That doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy working with you, or that I'll let you get away with any of the tricks you've been trying today," he added. "But..." Light held up his right hand. "In the interest of the investigation, I suppose we can call a truce."

Ryuuzaki looked at Light's hand as if unsure what it was. After a moment, he gingerly lifted his own right hand, pausing to study the cuff on his wrist. "..." Touching first his forefinger and thumb to Light's, he cautiously clasped Light's hand with his own. "...A truce," he seconded, locking eyes with Light.

Something in Ryuuzaki's eyes told Light that the man was no closer to trusting in him, but Light gave him a determined smile anyway.

Whatever Ryuuzaki wanted to believe, Light would prove his innocence. Even if they had to kill a hundred Kira to manage it.

LxLxL

It had been more than a week since Ryuuzaki and Light had called their truce.

In that time, their investigation had moved along smoothly: As far as the Yotsuba group knew, Aiber was Erald Coil, and they had a meeting with Amane-san for tomorrow to try to extract information on L from her. Amane-san and Aiber had been practising their parts for the past several days, and even Ryuuzaki was impressed with how well they were coming along.

All in all, the Kira investigation was going perfectly.

It was his relationship with Light that had come to a stalemate.

With forced patience, Ryuuzaki waited for Light to finish his shower. Since Light had realized that Ryuuzaki was still convinced of his guilt, Light had informed him that Ryuuzaki's attraction was at odds with his suspicion, and as such Light wouldn't allow Ryuuzaki to touch him again until Ryuuzaki actually believed that Light was not Kira.

And Ryuuzaki had tried.

That was perhaps the most frustrating part; he had become desperate enough to question months of sound and consistent reasoning, wondering if Light's persistent certainty of innocence had any merit past denial.

Now, standing by the door in unwanted chastity, Ryuuzaki curled his toes, hunched his shoulders, and tried not to imagine water streaming over skin he'd only been able to really explore that once. He wondered if this abstinence was as difficult for Light as it was for him, or if the younger man genuinely didn't care.

He'd assumed he understood Light- then again, he hadn't thought that realizing that Ryuuzaki still believed he was a murderer would have gone over so badly with him, either.

In many ways, Light's thinking matched Ryuuzaki's perfectly. It aggravated him that on this one point Light was being so incredibly stubborn and refusing to see logic. No matter how Ryuuzaki turned and prodded the facts of the investigation, he couldn't stop his conviction. Light was Kira. Amane-san was the second Kira. He knew this to the core of his being.

All he lacked was evidence.

Sighing, Ryuuzaki cast another regretful glance at the shower.

He had been persistent as well, the first few days of their truce. But the second time Light slipped in the shower while violently trying to avoid him, Ryuuzaki had promised to stop trying to bend Light's resolution when it might actually hurt Light.

So he'd focused on the night-time instead, distracting the younger man with kisses or caresses. That had almost worked, once, before Light came to his senses on the bed with Ryuuzaki laying on him. He'd kicked Ryuuzaki off with enough force to bruise and hadn't talked to Ryuuzaki about anything but the case for two days.

"Light-kun...?" he asked over the spray of the shower.

"What, Ryuuzaki?" came the irritated reply, drifting through the shower curtain. "And if you pull open the curtain, I will injure you. Just to be clear. Well?"

Ryuuzaki shifted, hands in his pockets. Reviewing the shower tapes was always a difficult time for him now- at least when he was sure his attraction to Light was one-sided, it was easier to compartmentalize his unwanted hormonal reaction and focus on making sure Light did nothing suspicious. Now any image of Light unclothed brought back memories that made it hard for Ryuuzaki to concentrate on the case and not just pin Light down and see if he kept resisting. That would be dangerous, yes, but it might be interesting as well...

"Ryuuzaki?" Light prompted, tone more wryly questioning than annoyed. "You did have a reason to say my name before, didn't you?" A pause, and then the curtain swished slightly open as half of Light's face peered out suspiciously, obviously having a worry that Ryuuzaki might be doing something else that would inspire an unintentional calling of Light's name. Knowing the detective's perversions intimately now, Light wasn't convinced the man wouldn't stoop to masturbating outside of the shower.

Guessing Light's fear after an instant, Ryuuzaki smiled slightly. "I have more control than that, Light-kun," he reminded. "I was analyzing our situation."

"Oh." Suspicions eased, Light let the curtain close again, apparently disinclined to ask for details.

"..." Ryuuzaki fidgeted his toes again, head down to study them. "Does Light-kun find this as difficult as I do...?" he wondered aloud.

There was a sigh, followed by the water turning off. In the resulting silence, Light pulled the curtain fully open and accepted the towel Ryuuzaki held carefully up to him. "What did you say?" he asked Ryuuzaki in a nettled way as he towelled his hair.

Waiting until Light's face reappeared as the younger man began to dry his body, Ryuuzaki finally spoke, keeping his tone inflectionless. "I asked if ignoring me and pushing me off is easy for you, Light-kun. You have mentioned hating me before, and that it must be our forced proximity that caused my attraction, even if I disagree... Is this easy for you?" He turned his head to focus more fully on Light.

Delaying for time as he considered, Light continued to towel himself off and then gathered his clothes for the night. "Of course it isn't 'easy', Ryuuzaki," he responded in a quietly reproachful way, avoiding the detective's gaze by concentrating on getting dressed. "Aside from how annoying it is when you keep pushing me after I've made up my mind. But..." Light gave Ryuuzaki a direct look, eyes adamant and jaw set. "I'm not going to give in just because of some misguided circumstantial attraction. You think I'm Kira. If you can believe I would be a person like that..." Shaking his head, Light pulled on his shirt and held out his hand for the cuff. "When you can see me for who I really am, we'll have this conversation again, all right? Until that point, I'm going to focus only on capturing the real Kira. We're getting close now."

Ryuuzaki nodded slowly, still watching Light with a neutral expression. Re-cuffing the younger man, Ryuuzaki opened the bathroom door, tensing against the rush of cool air after the steam and humidity. "...Light-kun finally confesses to his attraction?" he clarified.

Sighing, Light ran his fingers through his hair, letting it air-dry briefly before he would return and blow it dry. "Is that all you heard?" he asked dryly. "Yes, Ryuuzaki. For some reason, I can only assume stress-induced madness, I no longer hate your messy hair and horrible sense of fashion." Light paced with Ryuuzaki down the short hall to their bedroom. "The verdict is still out on whether I can stand your strange monkey-toes and bizarre habits, though, so don't get over-confident," he added.

Preceding Light into the room, Ryuuzaki paused thoughtfully and looked back at Light with his eyes widened. "...Then, Light-kun, in the interest of speed... I can use my notebook tonight, correct?"

Narrowing his eyes, Light flicked the light off and headed for bed. "No, Ryuuzaki. You're not that attractive. After all, I still need my rest to function at full capacity."

Ryuuzaki sighed, having expected an answer like that. Going to his side of the bed, he cast another glance at Light. "...Then, could we have sex?" he asked with some lingering hope. "It would help me to sleep as well-" he cut himself off to dodge Light's thrown pillow. Looking behind himself at the discarded object, Ryuuzaki spoke musingly. "Light-kun could have just said no," he observed.

The next pillow caught Ryuuzaki in the back of the head.

Stubbornly, Light climbed under the covers without his pillow, laying down and closing his eyes firmly. "Goodnight, Ryuuzaki."

"..." Collecting the pillow he could reach with the chain connecting them, Ryuuzaki returned it to Light. "Goodnight, Light-kun," he replied quietly.

Opening his eyes to glance at the offered pillow, Light followed Ryuuzaki's arm with his eyes to study Ryuuzaki a moment before relenting and taking the pillow. Sighing, he motioned Ryuuzaki closer.

Cautiously obeying after a moment of thought, Ryuuzaki perched warily beside Light, ready to dodge back should Light be laying a trap. He froze in surprise when Light's fingers found their way into his hair, pulling Ryuuzaki insistently down. Leaning up to meet him, Light pressed his lips to Ryuuzaki's only to find the detective still tense from suspicion.

Rolling his eyes, Light frowned at the older man. "Well? This is a kiss. If you don't take advantage of it, you're encouraged to participate," he remarked sarcastically.

Needing no further encouragement but feeling his stomach strangely twisted, Ryuuzaki met the next kiss equally, and the two lingered for a moment with their lips chastely together.

When the tip of Light's tongue traced along Ryuuzaki's lip, Ryuuzaki let out a shaky breath, supporting himself with his hands on the bed as he leaned into it. "Light-kun..." he murmured in protest, voice thicker than he'd heard it in a week. "Please..."

Releasing Ryuuzaki almost regretfully, Light licked his lips and looked away, breathing as carefully as the detective above him. "That's all, until you believe me," he asserted quietly.

Swallowing with difficulty, Ryuuzaki pressed his forehead to Light's temple as he calmed his breathing. "I thought Light-kun wasn't a sadist," he commented.

Light frowned slightly. "I didn't mean it to hurt you," he corrected. A small smile curved his lips and he slid his gaze back to Ryuuzaki. "Maybe I just wanted to remind you of what you can't have while you persist with your ridiculous assertion of my guilt."

"...You know it isn't ridiculous," Ryuuzaki murmured. Light stiffened beneath him, and Ryuuzaki rolled to his side to watch the younger man. "I've been trying to see you as innocent, Light-kun, but you know..."

"All of the evidence points to me," Light concluded for him, face turned away from Ryuuzaki. Moonlight from the window showed the clenched set of Light's jaw but shrouded his eyes in shadow. "I know, I've seen the same evidence... But it's impossible to believe."

"Not impossible," Ryuuzaki demurred quietly. "Light-kun just doesn't want to see it."

"Can't." Turning his face to Ryuuzaki, Light appeared to be imploring the detective to understand. "I can't believe it. It isn't a question of 'want'- if I'm capable of being Kira, then I don't know myself at all. Would you be able to accept that?"

After a hesitation, Ryuuzaki trailed his fingers through Light's bangs to rest his hand against the curve of Light's jaw. "As Light-kun mentioned, my actions have caused criminals to die before," he pointed out. "I have less power than Kira, and am not trying to reform the world, but we have both killed. If all evidence told me that I was Kira, I would try to understand what about myself made me capable of doing those things. With Light-kun... I believe you wanted a better world. The method for attaining it is evil, but the ideal is... noble."

Light closed his eyes, and Ryuuzaki watched the faint signs that escaped the younger man's controlled expression as emotions and questions wreaked havoc behind the calm mask. After a moment, Light took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, placing his hand over Ryuuzaki's with more force than he had probably intended to- almost with desperation. His gaze was unwavering. "We will capture Kira, Ryuuzaki. Somehow... there has to be a way for me to be innocent."

Unwilling to lie, Ryuuzaki only managed a small nod. With effort, he kept the disappointment and an emotion akin to sympathy locked behind his own mask.

LxLxL

Their plans had gone better than anyone could have believed, and the net around the third Kira was set and drawing tight.

Seated beside Ryuuzaki in the passenger side of a helicopter the detective had learned to fly by instinct only minutes before, Light kept his focus on the vidscreen before him and watched as Higuchi's car raced at a breakneck speed for Yotsuba's head office.

As predicted, the man had been growing increasingly desperate, searching for Matsuda's name and face before the man could release his name on Sakura TV. If he found them- if the detectives or Wedy had made any mistakes in removing the information available to Higuchi- Matsuda would die. If Higuchi failed, he would be caught.

Light's stomach was tense and nervous with adrenaline, and he found his heart racing unexpectedly fast as they sped through the sky. Below them, the city was a map of glowing darkness with lights in white and red and neon signs glaringly bright.

Ryuuzaki's voice came to him through the bulky headphones of the chopper as the detective confirmed with Wedy that all information about Matsuda had been taken from Yotsuba's office, and all security footage erased.

As the helicopter hovered, Higuchi swerved his car to a stop at the office, tearing from his car and into the building. Minutes later, his small figure reappeared on the screen, obviously desperate now as he slammed into his vehicle again and took off for the TV studio.

After alerting his father to be ready for Higuchi's arrival, Light risked a glance at Ryuuzaki. The detective was hunched in his seat as he flew, gaze focused on the flying and their plan. Sensing eyes on him, he turned his head slightly, and Light gave him a small, fierce smile. Ryuuzaki's dark eyes widened briefly, and he gave a faint nod before returning to his task. Looking to the vidscreen once more, the younger man felt a grim satisfaction. They almost had him- Kira would be theirs, and within the hour if their plan worked smoothly.

LxLxL

Kira was not a fish that would allow himself to be caught easily.

The net, as it turned out, had several crucial holes in it: Aiber's reluctance to use guns, chief Yagami's direct refusal to carry one while no longer being a detective, and Higuchi unexpectedly possessing one. Four people in the Sakura TV trap became inadequate when only one was able to shoot the suspect if attacked.

Chief Yagami had been shot protecting Wedy, and Higuchi had escaped to the road once more.

The situation was looking questionable. And then... The police arrived. Unexpectedly and in force, windows tinted to keep the third Kira from seeing the occupants inside and killing them, they cut off Higuchi's escape.

Leaning out of the helicopter, Watari fired a single, calm shot from his sniper rifle, and Higuchi's car spun out of control against a wall before the man could try to swerve his car and race away.

Putting his gun to his own head, Higuchi shouted at the cops to stay away.

"What an idiot..." Ryuuzaki commented.

Hands steady in spite of his advanced age, Watari shot the gun from Higuchi's hand.

Ryuuzaki watched with Light as Higuchi, powerless and defeated, stepped from his car with hands upraised to be blindfolded and handcuffed by chief Yagami. The man confessed that he killed people by means of a notebook, hidden in the car.

With the helicopter now safely on the ground, Ryuuzaki poured sweetened tea from a thermos into a waiting teacup Watari had had the foresight to bring with them and waited for chief Yagami to see if that claim was true.

After both men dropped the notebook, screaming and claiming they could now see a monster, Ryuuzaki forgot his tea. It was too much to believe- had the first two Kira been telling the truth all along, with their hints about a reaper and the eyes of a God of Death?

The notebook was brought to him; Ryuuzaki held it carefully by the edges.

And Ryuuzaki saw it: inhumanly stretched out, skin white and covered in bandages, towering feet above the detectives surrounding it. Almost forgetting to breathe, he kept widened eyes on the monster as his mind echoed with the sound of facts clicking into place.

Amane had seen Light on the twenty-second at Aoyama... She had known his name but couldn't explain it, and loved him instantly... Her hint had said to show their notebooks... So... There must be another notebook somewhere.

Lost in his thoughts, Ryuuzaki only realized that the notebook was out of his hands when he heard Light screaming.

LxLxL

Light remembered everything.

His plan had gone almost exactly as he had hoped, and he was certain that the discrepancies could be worked through.

The end to his troubles was at hand. Soon, Ryuuzaki would be dead, and Light's path to becoming the god of his new world would be clear.

He distracted the already deeply shaken Ryuuzaki with the plan of checking the names of the criminals in the notebook against those in their archives, all the while unlocking the secret compartment in his watch and writing Higuchi's name on the scrap of death note kept there. It was child's play... Ryuuzaki hadn't even asked about his scream, he had assumed it was from seeing Rem.

Maybe there were benefits to having the detective infatuated with him. Having concern instead of suspicion as his first thought wasn't like the L Light remembered at all. Still, the man was a genius, and tempting fate by pretending to still be his lover couldn't be thought to be an intelligent plan.

In any case, Ryuuzaki would soon be dead, and Misa, when she inevitably made the eyes-deal with Ryuk, would be much more useful to Light's future.

The last line of the kanji to Higuchi's name was scratched in blood on the paper scrap, and Light surreptitiously swallowed the piece. Feigning shock when the third Kira convulsed and died, Light was laughing in his mind. Just like that, he had won- the detectives would study the notebooks, discover the false rules Ryuk had added... and Light and Misa would be found innocent.

His gaze slid to Ryuuzaki and he hid a smirk. Check, Ryuuzaki.

He wondered what futile defenses Ryuuzaki would put up, or if he would be dead before he even realized the trap was closing around him.

LxLxL

Ryuuzaki lined coffee creamers up carefully in front of his keyboard, stacking them precisely on top of each other as he questioned Rem.

The group had returned to headquarters after the third Kira had died. Though there was talk of it being a possible suicide, the conclusion became a general question mark. Higuchi's sudden death was unexplained, and Rem was either being purposely unhelpful or knew next to nothing about what it actually meant to be a god of death or for a human possessing a death note.

On top of that, Ryuuzaki constantly felt Light's eyes straying to him, as if the younger man were making sure that the detective could see the walls closing in. There was a new Kira out there for them to catch, one that had murdered Higuchi. That... Or the original Kira was back. But Ryuuzaki lacked any proof, and the evidence he had only proved Light's innocence. Obviously, he couldn't get away any longer with using his conviction of Light's guilt to rationalize confining and observing him again...

Agreeing with Light that the boy and Misa must be innocent if the thirteen-day rule was correct, Ryuuzaki stacked another creamer with intense focus. "...We're going to stop observing Misa..." he decided, unable to think of a way out of it with the detectives still there. "Since she isn't a part of the investigating team, we can't have her here. And we don't want to involve her in this investigation any longer..."

"Then I suppose when I meet with Misa it will have to be outside..." Light mused with a sigh.

Ryuuzaki's hand jerked in surprise, and the creamers scattered. Heart hammering, Ryuuzaki looked up at Light. "You want to meet her?"

"Ryuuzaki, she's the woman who said 'I love you' to me so many times, and even risked her life for me. It is only natural for someone who is loved that much, and so persistently, to have their heart moved..."

Wondering if his stomach had possibly been upset by the idea of trying to swallow that information, Ryuuzaki sat tensely in his computer chair, toes clenched together out of sight. "...You mean you fell in love with her?" he asked. It couldn't be- one day ago, Misa had been an annoyance to Light, kept near only because of her identity as the second Kira. Light had implied that when Kira was caught, he might be with Ryuuzaki...

The detective took a steady breath. This had too many possibilities, he had to be careful. Either Light had been avoiding Ryuuzaki because he was falling in love with Amane- which would also be an alternative explanation for his defense of her- or the Light that he had known was no longer inhabiting the younger man's body. Kira was once more making it his home. Either way, this wasn't evidence he could tell the detectives about...

He listened with half an ear as Light confirmed that it might be love, and Matsuda and the others expressed their pleasure at his confession.

LxLxL

That night, for the first time in months, Ryuuzaki was alone.

With Light having chosen a separate suite, claiming his relief at being free, the detective curled on the covers of the queen-sized bed.

For a time, he simply watched the cameras on his notebook, studying the place where Light used to be.

It was three in the morning, but Light wasn't there to tell him turn off the light, stop typing and let him sleep. Candy wrappers and snacks littered the covers, but Light wasn't there, and couldn't tell him his habits were disgusting and to clean up after himself, that he shouldn't expect a maid to walk in.

It was... disconcerting.

Finally giving in to his instincts, Ryuuzaki took the notebook and left the room, curling on the couch and pushing aside the pieceless chessboard he and Light had used to kill the hours between work and sleep. For a time, he stared at the board, arranging it with one finger until it was centered exactly on its side of the coffee table. His mind replayed past conversations and arguments, and he found himself smiling. "Light-kun always forgets the pawn," he murmured to himself.

He had a feeling he would never see that Light again.

Although... Ryuuzaki froze, the thought turning in his mind. Light and Kira must have similarities. If he was lucky, this could be one of them. Could Light have really planned for every eventuality? Or would one useful piece be overlooked?

Opening his notebook again, Ryuuzaki contacted Watari.

"Watari, we have a change of plans. Put me into contact with Wedy..." Ryuuzaki's hands clenched on his knees, but his expression stayed calm. "Kira has regained his memories."

* * *

Damnit, I just now noticed that is fucking stupid and strips dash-lines, asterisks and spaces... If I had thought about it or noticed, I'd have fixed it before. I've hopefully fixed the previous chapters so you can see more of how the differentiations in chapter parts were intended. I also have a headache and am quite irritated at stupidity. I spent ten minutes trying to determine something it wouldn't, in fact, strip, and decided on the L's and x's, in spite of their annoyance. [Edit for 5/09/2011: These issues should finally all be shiny, now.]

"Slept so Long" is sung by Jay Gordon of Orgy or by Korn, depending. It is one of the few good things to come from the bastardization that was the film version of Queen of the Damned. For some reason, "Love Today" and "Lollipop" by Mika make me feel really inspired for writing.

This chapter actually took me around a month to write. I had to reread manga 6 about three times writing it for plot points though, that's the main reason. From here on in, things get interesting and deviate more from the canon. I didn't remember how much stuff I'd worked into this chapter- it's crazy!

Thanks to everyone who's still reading! Goodnight Moon's almost over, and then I'll start posting chapters for the sequel. I'm also so amazed that so many people have been reading this even though the sudden jumps must have been hellish!

Replies to Reviews begin now:

MiaoShou: Thanks! I've been irritated to no end before by fics where they have lovely antagonism built up, and suddenly the chars have sex and they're holding hands in the hallways and fawning over each other.

SonokoTao: That's a relief- I really did worry about it, and still do if I consider it too much.

Deliciously Tormented: I'll try to keep up with that! I'd almost forgotten to update today because I had a morning shift and it threw me off. Also, depending on the stockpile I build up for the sequel, you guys might be getting chapters in my real-time speeds soon enough- lately that seems to be around a week. I'm fond of how they slept, too, as an end note.

Bob Da Peach: *laughs* Well, even if that's the case, thanks! And I managed to find a zen-like balance in my self-control. The cookies sit on my computer desk so I can eat while writing. (This is not a joke... I also have *counts* four- no, five bags of snacks surrounding the chair for emergency urges. I missed the candy corn hidden on my bookshelf.)

GreyFlower: Wow! That's hilarious. Yeah, I was partway through 'Closer' and startled snickering at picturing the 'closer to God' line in reference to Light and L... But still, the other song won out.

Gaawa-chan: Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it. Sorry for the out-bleeding.

SoraXNamine: And now you don't have to! Thanks.


	9. Kansas City Shuffle

Chapter Nine: Kansas City Shuffle

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Rating: R

Pairings: Kira / L

Warning(s): Contains spoilers for manga 1 through parts of 7.

Comment: Sorry about last chapter! I know it had too much skimming over the manga, etc.. Very aggravating. This chapter has almost none!

* * *

The bathroom again.

Sighing, Kira leaned against the counter, looking into the mirror in boredom. His face stared back at him, and he grimaced in annoyance. "Really, I have our memories. You had some sort of delusion about me talking to you when you were asleep, so you're using the same format. Now you'll talk to me, and... what?" he drawled. "What have you got to say? Hurry up, I haven't got all night."

A ripple in the mirror that he could almost feel, and his reflection glared at him.

"Don't do it," Light ordered. Kira's reflection seemed somehow younger, all earnest fire and hands clenched on the counter's formica top.

"Or... What?" Kira asked, feigning curiosity. Straightening, he crossed his arms casually on his chest. "L is an obstacle in my path, you know that as well as he does. I won, and now it's only a matter of time. Days, probably. Less if Misa actually remembers his name- though I doubt she will," Kira added wryly.

Light's knuckles against the counter were turning pale with strain. "Killing L is a mistake. This isn't murdering criminals, Kira. L is..."

"Oh, I know what you think of him," Kira mocked, mimicking Light's position and giving him a slow, condescending smile. "And I can't believe you used my body in that way. But I've killed innocents before. They were necessary deaths on the path to a beautiful new future. And in case you've forgotten, he wants us dead." Kira chuckled, rapping on the mirror with a knuckle. "I'm sorry, he wants ime/i dead. You already are."

"Really?" Light released the counter to spread his hand on his side of the glass, studying it first and then looking again to Kira. "You're forgetting the purpose of a mirror, aren't you?"

Kira narrowed his eyes slightly. Reaching out, he tore the dream open.

LxLxL

He woke with a gasp, shaking from his anger. Gritting his teeth, Kira sat up and checked the glowing red numbers of the alarm clock.

Four in the morning.

Sighing in annoyance, the genius slipped from his bed to shower, assuming that another attempt at sleep might bring the aggravating dream back.

LxLxL

It had been two days since Higuchi's capture and the discovery of the death note. Everything was going perfectly to plan, and Kira realized with some amusement that the wait for L's impending death was beginning to feel a little like a holiday.

Everything was in motion, the wheels were spinning ever onward, and he had only to wait a scant few days before one of his traps would close over L. With every sharp movement the detective made, Kira's eyes would jump to him, half-expecting the older man to clutch his chest in pain and plummet from the chair. It was both a disappointment and source of wry humor when the stubborn man insisted on continuing to live.

Misa had met with him the day before, her lifespan shortened again and once more his useful tool. That she hadn't remembered L's real name was a pity, and also the reason he kept thinking L's movements might be his final throes and not merely the paranoid gestures of a man who must, by now, suspect that he was slated to die soon. He glanced again to Ryuuzaki- no, L, Kira refused to assign such a ridiculous pseudonym to the famous detective. The dark-haired man was crouched on the couch rather than at his accustomed computer terminal and was persistently pestering Rem with attempts at gleaning information from her that could be used on the case.

Kira stifled a chuckle at that, knowing Rem would continue to defend his plans. It was such a pleasant surprise when Kira had discovered that shinigami were as easy to manipulate as humans.

He was, however, beginning to understand the downfall of movie villains explaining their plans to the enemy too soon so they could enjoy an evil laugh at the horrified admiration of their nemesis. His plots were so intricate, but when they were over no one would be around to admire his work. The humans that were worthy of his new kingdom would need to be kept ignorant of the blood that lined its path, and even if Misa and her useful eyes were still at his side she needed to be kept in the dark about his true nature.

Really, it was almost a shame he couldn't keep L alive, locked up somewhere to visit occasionally. It would be useful to have someone to talk to that was on a level with himself, that could understand...

He tensed slightly, realizing that his gaze had come to a thoughtful rest on the eccentric detective only when the other man's black eyes met his. His heart gave a strange start, and he could barely cover his surprise.

Seething inwardly at his strange reaction, Kira remained calm at the surface, nodding slightly in acknowledgment of L's intent stare. L was as closed off as ever, betraying nothing as he studied Kira a moment more and turned back to Rem with another question.

Drawing on Light's memories from months chained to the detective, Kira could see by the line of the thin shoulders through their customary white shirt that he was unhappy, and from the paler cast of his skin and the red tears around his thumb that the man was getting even less sleep than usual, worry or his own thoughts keeping him from rest. He'd probably been staying awake watching the security cameras all night- the man never had learned to turn the notebook off in bed.

Kira made a note of the familiar exasperation in that thought. He was beginning to suspect that the time his more innocent self had spent with the bizarre genius might have more lingering ill-effects than he'd planned for.

LxLxL

Hours passed, and as the day wore tensely toward evening, Kira's attentions snapped to a sudden flurry of disbelieving shouts. Looking away from his terminal, he allowed himself a small smile as chief Yagami and his detectives discovered Misa's most recent work. Sixteen criminals dead in one night- it was certainly impressive.

To his right, he heard a distinct crunch as the chocolate-filled panda snack L had been eating broke between his thin fingers. He waited smugly for L to point out that the criminal activity had begun almost as soon as Misa was released from observation.

At the detective's silence, however, he frowned and glanced to the dark-haired man in annoyance. Beside him, his father and the others were still trying to recover from the shock of what appeared to be a new Kira, so close to Higuchi's death.

L's eyes were focused unseeingly on his computer screen. He slowly turned his head and looked to Kira, but the thoughts behind his eyes were ones even months in his constant presence couldn't allow Kira to guess.

The phone on the desk rang, and everyone but L gave a slight start- or, in Matsuda's case, a tiny girly yelp followed by an embarrassed laugh as Aizawa and chief Yagami sighed at him. Before the others could react, L picked the receiver up gingerly and held it to his ear, standing and moving away from the others. "Yes... I see." His thumb went to his mouth, and Kira winced to think of the man chewing the already torn skin. It was getting to a point where he was considering finding the detective a bandage to keep him from bleeding on the keyboards. "Yes... No, I would like a chance to speak with him first."

"Ryuuzaki, what is it?" chief Yagami asked, concern in his voice as he watched the genius in concern. "What is Watari saying?"

L glanced over his shoulder at the aging detective without expression, then shuffled back to the desk and dropped the receiver down. "I've acquired sensitive new information. I would like a chance to speak with Yagami-kun about it." He fixed his stare again on Kira.

Not liking the sensation of his orderly plan possibly having a hole in it, Kira masked his concern with earnest indignation, projecting quiet protest and reluctance in his posture. "Ryuuzaki, is that really necessary? Anything you have to say can be said around the others. I trust them- you really should, too." He gave a pointed half-smile. "Isn't that why you had us play genius chess?" he prompted, using innocent words to play on the pride of the others.

"He's right, Ryuuzaki," chief Yagami protested firmly, and Kira had to hide a smile. "You should trust us by now. Anything you can say to my son you can say to all of us."

Ryuuzaki bit his thumb again, winced, and studied it. Absently, he wiped it on his shirt, and a smear of red followed to stain the white material. Kira shook his head slightly, able to easily imagine his father's expression becoming even more severe as the clean and orderly father of two resisted the urge to drag Ryuuzaki aside and patch him up like a reluctant child. "Of course I trust you," L deadpanned, tone not at all reassuring. Social skills never had been a priority for the genius. "I still need to talk to Yagami-kun first. It involves Amane-san," he added cryptically.

Kira frowned at the first explanation that came to mind. "Ryuu- you didn't grab her again, did you?" he asked, exasperated. He had told the girl to cover her tracks and write from bathroom stalls or where no one might have cameras, so that wasn't a concern as much as Ryuuzaki's impulsiveness getting her kidnapped again and slowing his plans. "The deaths today are no indication-"

"No, she hasn't been kidnapped," L interrupted, ignoring Kira's irritation. He continued to watch Kira intently.

"..." After an awkward pause, Kira looked to the other detectives, then stood slowly. "...Did something happen to her?" he prompted. Rem was looking between the two of them, and Kira mentally urged the shinigami to remain silent and stop acting worried. The idiot could ruin his plans if she started showing too much interest in Misa.

Turning on his heel, L started for the door, apparently secure now in the assumption that Kira would follow. Thinning his lips, chief Yagami placed a hand on his son's shoulder briefly, glancing to him with an attempt at reassurance. "He's rough around the edges, son, but I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

"Thanks, dad," Kira replied, returning his smile with a forced one of his own. The effort wasn't even entirely fake- his plans were feeling less secure than they had a moment ago. If L was only pulling him aside to ask him why he'd chosen Misa over him, Kira was going to split his lip open. A bruised knuckle would be more than worth it.

Grimly, he caught up to L before the man could reach the door, and Rem ghosted over the floor after them, her tall frame phasing through the door and walls as L led them through the hallways.

LxLxL

They entered a room that Kira had never seen before, from a hallway the security cameras hadn't shown existed. The floor was wood, the walls were bare, and the only item in the place was a laptop across the room. Its screen had the Old English W Watari used to represent himself.

Increasingly unsettled, Kira remembered after a moment to act as Light. Frowning in annoyance at the theatrics, he crossed his arms on his chest. "Ryuuzaki, what's the meaning of this place? Why did you pull me away? It looks like you had this room specially made..."

"..." Glancing at Rem as the god of death drifted in behind them, L secured the door. "Light-kun guesses correctly. I had been under the assumption that Kira would be caught more quickly, and that our time chained together would be brief. This is a meditation room. The only camera is inside of that notebook." Walking to the mentioned notebook, L knelt and closed the cover. He appeared to be gathering strength, and Kira fell back a prudent step, warily readying himself for a fight.

The expected attack didn't come, and after a moment L stood. His shoulders straightened, and he met Kira's eyes somberly. There was a look in his gaze that usually meant he'd put Light's pieces into check on the gameboard, and Kira felt his breath ease out to keep from showing his nerves. "Watari's call was to tell me that Wedy succeeded in catching Amane Misa using the death note. The evidence is on a disc, and when I tell Watari he will cause the terminals in front of the detectives to play the same footage. With the evidence linking the two of you, you will both be put to death."

Kira froze, finding it difficult to breathe. It can't be that easy- he can't have won. No- he wouldn't have warned me. There would be no reason to... And how could he have gotten that footage of Misa? She's stupid, but she's loyal... Did she ignore my warning on where to use the note? He's probably only trying to trip me up, with some camera hidden where I can't see to catch a confession. Calmer with the thought, Kira continued his act, glaring at L. "Why won't you give up?" he demanded, putting tired hurt and anger into his tone. "You can't have caught Misa doing that because she isn't Kira. Neither am I- you already know that, too. You had to release her. We didn't write in the death note for months and we're still alive, Ryuuzaki."

L nodded. "Normally, I would have spent a month testing the rules one by one using death row inmates," he agreed. "But I had the feeling that you would not allow me to live that long," he responded quietly, almost sympathetically. "Your plans were good, but you hadn't allowed for Wedy... You always did forget the pawns. I know you don't want to believe it, but you can drop your act, Kira. I'm not trying to trap you."

"Then why would you tell me?" Kira demanded. "And quit calling me Kira! I'm not a murderer. You need to stop trying to blame me and focus on the real killer!"

"Why would I tell you..." L echoed thoughtfully. He looked to the ceiling, and Kira grit his teeth at the man's familiar gesture making the line of his throat seem vulnerable. When L met his eyes again, he was frowning slightly at whatever answer he had found. "...I know it's not likely, but if you could give up your memories again... I like you, Light-kun. I don't want you to die. But you've killed thousands of people, and if you keep your memories and show no remorse, you will die."

He thought Kira would give up his memories again, and turn himself into some sort of deluded toy for the detective to keep around? Kira's eyes flashed angrily at the offensive thought. Even as he bristled in anger, however, his mind presented a plan it had been working on as the rest of him talked. First, though, he needed to be sure that L wasn't lying, and that the other detectives weren't already watching this scene on their computers as it happened. "Is this because I chose her over you?" he demanded, loud enough for a camera to pick up but still quiet. "I told you, Ryuuzaki. I was only with you until Kira was caught- it was only because we'd been around each other for so long."

Not even flinching, L studied Kira with his head tilted slightly, obviously trying to work out Light's plan for confessing that. "...That is what led me to have Amane followed," the detective admitted, and Kira felt a flare of irritation at himself for that slip. "It was so different from how you'd acted for months. But if you really do chose her over me, that doesn't change my plan. I would still prefer that Yagami-kun stay alive. Keeping both Kira alive, however, would be too dangerous."

Time was running short. Rem was watching them both, and Kira couldn't trust that she wouldn't kill him as well if she blamed him for L's paranoia. Kira took a breath, grimacing inwardly at the thought of what he was about to do. "...There are no cameras, Ryuuzaki. You promise that?" he asked softly, attention focused intently on the other man.

Still trying to guess Kira's thoughts, L studied him in puzzlement and nodded slowly. "I want you to give up your memories. I'll keep you somewhere- you'll be safe..." he trailed off tensely as Kira walked toward him.

"And Misa will be dead," Kira finished softly. He heard a rustle of wings and paper, and knew that Rem was taking the opportunity he'd offered. L's eyes turned toward Rem to see what the noise had been, and Kira stepped into him, mouth covering the detective's in an insistent kiss.

L remained stiff in his arms for an instant, obviously fighting with himself to pull away and keep control of the situation. Kira had a flash of irritation that the man might foil the plan and warn Watari, but after the moment's hesitation he felt strong, wiry arms hold him closer.

Allowing the kiss to deepen, Kira closed his eyes as L's tongue trailed along the roof his mouth ticklishly. Tired of passivity in even that brief time, Kira forced the detective's tongue back, fighting into the other man's mouth with a murmur of effort. Without his encouragement, one of his arms wound around L's shoulders possessively, and he felt his mind begin to haze as he clenched at one of Ryuuzaki's sleeves and pressed demandingly against the other man.

Forty seconds ticked by, and the sociopathic genius forgot what he'd started the kiss for.

A hiss from Rem brought him back to reality abruptly, and he jerked away with a gasp. Confused for a moment, he looked to Rem in irritation, tongue drawing over his lower lip in memory of how strangely sweet the detective tasted.

The shinigami didn't appear to notice, holding her open death note and staring at L.

Panting with Kira to regain his breath, L's eyes were wide and he seemed pale in spite of the flush from their heated kiss. "I'm sorry, Yagami-kun," he apologized breathlessly. "I do not intend to die. I do appreciate the kiss, though. I had wondered what Kira would taste like." He touched his fingers to his lips.

Pretense of being Light forgotten, Kira narrowed his eyes at Rem. "What happened?" Rem shook her head, wings flapping in agitation.

"I was testing the rules on myself," L stated calmly, breathing normal again. "Do you remember part IX?"

Eyes widening, Kira cursed softly. Rem frowned. "What is he talking about?"

"He wrote his own name in the note, misspelled four times," Kira snapped. "The notes can't kill him now. He probably wrote Watari's name as well." He held his arms out from his sides, lifting his chin and glaring a challenge. "Well? Is that a good enough confession for the great detective?"

"Kira-kun is a childish loser," L observed, bringing his hand to his mouth before recalling the blood and dropping it. He stepped closer to Kira. "But my offer stands. There were no cameras watching. I want Light-kun back, and you get to live, to try to win another day."

Kira narrowed his eyes, feeling his heart beating uncomfortably fast. The urge to punch L was almost impossible to resist, but there was a chance he could get out of this on top. L wanted him, and that was a powerful piece left in play if he moved the man right. He considered the detective's offer seriously for the first time. Would it be so bad? L would keep the death note, and there was a chance that Light would come into contact with it in the future. Still, the thought of being kept out of the way, with only the detective for amusement when the man chose to visit his cell between cases... it was galling. There had to be another way.

The seed of an idea took root in his mind, and Kira closed his eyes, tilting his head to let it grow. L's attraction wasn't his only piece. Rem's love might work just as effectively... But the plan depended on how far L was willing to go to keep Light alive.

Decided, Kira looked to L reluctantly. "...I suppose being forced to stay with you isn't a fate worse than death. I'll accept your offer, on one condition- I get to be the one to tell Misa she's been caught, first," he stated firmly. "You can have her meet me here, outside like usual... If I tell her to, she'll go quietly, and I can take the note from her so she can't hurt anyone."

L tilted his head curiously. "Why would I allow you to hold onto a death note, or have contact with the second Kira before her trial?"

"Because that's the only way you'll get me alive," Kira replied flatly, gaze dangerous. "Misa has always been a loyal support to me, and I want a chance to thank her before she's taken. It will make a difference to her," he added more quietly, and Rem stirred slightly, keeping her eyes on Kira and obviously trying to figure out if he was being honest.

"I will not allow Misa to be taken," Rem stated, and Kira cursed inwardly at her inability to remain quiet. "Anyone who touches her will die."

Turning a questioning gaze to Rem, L widened his eyes. "You aren't protecting Yagami-kun?" he clarified. "Why... Ah. You wanted to keep Amane safe by killing Watari and myself." He studied Rem in light of this new information. "...Shinigami can fall in love," he remarked, amazed.

"Not love in the sense you mean it," Rem replied, shifting her ungainly, inhumanly stretched form from foot to foot. "I watch after her, and the emotion is... similar to a human mother with her child."

"Amane is like a child," L agreed solemnly, and Rem narrowed her eyes, trying to decide if the blunt detective was being insulting or just making an observation on Misa's behavior.

Cursing Rem in his mind, Kira allowed only a small frown on his face, crossing his arms. "L... There has to be a way to get Misa out of this alive, and to keep dad and the others safe. You have influence on the police, but you don't have the end say in whether either of us get the death penalty. If Misa apologizes sincerely and makes an appearance on television explaining that she only went along with me out of love, or gratitude for her parents, I think the public would forgive her. She doesn't deserve death for trying to help me achieve a world without crime. Misa is an innocent." And if Kira didn't know the nature of the justice system, he might even believe his own words.

Rem and L both looked back at him, each trying to decide which side he was truly on and whether to help his lie or destroy it. Kira was almost confident that both would believe him for their own reasons. For L, he would most likely err on the belief that Kira would only act in his own interests and that at the current time those interests coincided with bringing Misa to the police. He would assume that Kira had some plan to attempt escaping or getting one of the death notes back for his own use, but he would be confident in his own abilities to rig the playing field in his own favor.

"...Yagami-kun is correct," L agreed slowly, gaze intent on Kira as he apparently attempted to read Kira's thoughts. "I have no control over whether Kira or the second Kira receive the death penalty, though I will suggest it. If Amane can regret her crimes, they may be lenient with her."

Kira resisted the urge to laugh, and instead focused on Rem. It was up to the shinigami now, and Kira tried to put into his gaze that he still had a plan and needed Rem to trust him. As long as Rem could understand that they were all using each other, everything would be fine.

The pale god of death watched Kira unblinking, disturbed and obviously torn between her desire to protect Misa and the possibility that that involved allowing her to come anywhere near the police. Eventually, however, she nodded as well. "In that case, then, I will allow Misa to return here. Light will escort her inside, however- I don't want her to be hurt." Her eyes turned to L. "And whoever does decide her fate, if they choose to send her to death, they condemn themselves as well."

As neither L nor Kira actually intended to let things get to a fair and civil trial, they both nodded agreement to the plan.

A beep came from the closed notebook. It was followed by a muffled noise, and L slid his eyes to the device before shuffling to it, opening the top once more and conversing briefly with Watari.

Stepping closer to Rem, Kira dropped his voice to a murmur and the shinigami stooped to hear better. He spoke quickly, and by the time L stood a moment later Rem had moved away again, deep in thought.

Hiding any worries their talk may have caused him, L kept his focus on Kira. "Your father is demanding that we go back. Think of a good explanation for our talk, unless you want them to see the discs..." He shrugged slightly, made a move to bite his thumb again, and sighed at it.

"Why should I be the one thinking of an excuse, Ryuuzaki?" Kira asked in annoyance. "You're the one that pulled me here."

"I wasn't aware that I was pulling Kira-kun," L responded, not looking away from his thumb. Shaking his hand a little, he let it fall and started for the door. "Your concern for Misa, or for your plans, brought you with me."

"Haven't we already had a similar conversation?" Kira asked drily. "I'm not a sociopath."

"Light-kun was not," agreed L simply. "Kira-kun, however, is a mass-murderer."

Frowning, Kira fell into step with him as they left the doorway. "And yet, you're still alive," he murmured darkly, tired of L and just realizing that the man had bought himself a longer lease on life.

L nodded, hands deep in his pockets. "I am pleased that that particular rule was correct," he observed. "I was not expecting Rem to interfere in such a way, but did not underestimate the chance of Kira-kun finding a death note."

Slowing, Kira frowned at L. "L, please. Until tomorrow, at least, stop with the 'Kira' business."

"..." L glanced back at Kira, black eyes peering from beneath dark bangs. "...Do you still argue that you aren't Kira?"

Kira snorted. "It's not that. I just don't want to explain why I'm not trying to kill you for saying it."

Considering this, L tilted his head toward the ceiling. A moment later, he turned on heel again and continued down the hallway.

Taking this as the strange detective's way of assenting for the moment, Kira grimaced and followed. Maybe if he were lucky, he'd get a chance to kill the aggravating man the old-fashioned way. His father couldn't blame him for tossing L out a window, could he...?

LxLxL

November sixth came at its scheduled time, and Kira stared despondently at his computer screen, mind far away. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had almost won the night before, and that L should be dead, his own plans for world domination rolling smoothly along.

It was a pleasant thought.

Resisting the urge to sigh, Kira waited. Misa had agreed to come, and should be arriving any minute. His plan came down to a series of carefully timed moments, and the fact that it relied heavily upon Rem was a concern. Still, she would do everything she could to make sure everything went his way.

After more arguing, he had gotten L to agree that he should be the one to tell his father that he was Kira so the man wouldn't find out from a video of Misa writing in the death note. Kira wasn't certain why he was putting the revelation off, except perhaps on the hope that his plan would go better than expected, and he could find some way to exonerate himself and escape. All in all, having the stigma of being Kira hanging over himself this early in the game was bound to make his life more difficult.

In the outside monitor, he saw Misa's typically fashionable form bounce up the steps, her skirt flashing the tops of her lacy thigh-highs. His shoulders eased slightly at the end of the wait, and he reflected that his life would have been simpler if he'd actually been attracted to the model/actress. Looking up to the camera, Misa waved excitedly.

He smiled wryly at Matsuda's good-natured teasing and cheering and at the rough camaraderie of the others- excluding L, who merely watched him intently, bandaged thumb pressed to his mouth.

Pausing in the doorway, Kira glanced back, meeting his father's eyes. He considered warning the man, but discarded the idea. As he turned his steps into the hallway and headed for freedom, he decided that chief Yagami was a good man. It was a shame that, if Kira survived and his plans could be set into motion again, he would probably need to die.

LxLxL

When Light appeared in the doorway and headed toward her, Misa smiled in pure happiness, running to greet him with a hug. "Light! Misa missed you so much! Will Misa get to see you every day now?" she asked breathlessly, delight at the prospect making it hard to stay on the ground and not tackle her boyfriend.

"Misa..." Light returned her hug, and Misa leaned into him contentedly, smiling as he murmured into her ear. "You have to listen to me. Ryuuzaki- L- found evidence against you, and will use it against us both. Shh- don't worry, he isn't going to take us. But I'm going to need you to trust me. Did you bring the note?"

Misa nodded, fear and adrenaline making her dizzy and a little sick. "You told me to keep it on me, it's too dangerous to leave it..."

"That's right, Misa. I'm glad, you're doing wonderfully," he praised, and Misa's worry melted into relief.

"Light-kun... How did he get evidence? I was careful, I only wrote in the bathroom stalls, and never went to the same one...!"

"Do you remember Aiber? L has another friend, a woman named Wedy. She does professional espionage, and she was tracking you. Now, I need you to hand me your notebook... Careful, so the cameras can't see it. I can't be sure how much L really has evidence for." Discreetly, Misa slipped her death note from beneath her camisole, where a corset had been holding it in place. It was snuck into Light's shirt, and Misa blushed at the warmth of his skin. "Good..." Light breathed. Shivering at the tone, Misa snuck a glance at him, but he was looking at Rem. "I renounce my death note, Rem."

The pale shinigami took a step back before launching into the air, her strong wings taking her quickly up, and she disappeared into the wall.

Smiling, Light looked down at Misa again. "Now comes the part where you trust me. L wants me kept alive, Misa, but he has no problems with killing you. I'm supposed to be the one taking you inside to be arrested, but I'm sure he has police in the area to capture you if we try to run. As long as your note is touching me I can remember, but I need to keep my memories without touching it. When I tell you to, Misa, will you give up possession of your note...?"

Nodding, Misa watched Light worriedly. "But Misa doesn't want to leave you!"

"We'll meet up again, I promise. In the meantime, you can help continue Kira's work until I get free. Can you do that?" he asked. Ashamed and trying to be brave, Misa nodded.

"Good. Since I gave up my note, I'll need you to tell me when Rem returns." Light's attention slid to the dark shinigami standing beside them. "Ryuk- this is going to be very interesting, I promise. When Rem leaves with Misa, will you take my note? I won't be forsaking it, just asking you to watch it until you can find me again. I'm not sure what will happen to me when L realizes what I've done, but at the worst he'll have me arrested and confined pending a trial. With Misa free, I can think of something."

Misa bit her lip as Ryuk thought about the situation. "Light! What if he kills you? Why would he keep you alive?" Her eyes went wide, and anger immediately overtook her. "He really was kissing Misa's Light, wasn't he? Do you know his name yet? I'll-"

"Misa, Misa, shh," Light soothed, embarrassed by her outburst and glancing at the camera. "We don't have long. Rem should have the note by now... She'll explain everything to you, I'm sure. Ryuk?"

Shifting his huge form, Ryuk shrugged. "Sure, if it means things will get interesting again. I'll definitely be back to get my apples for this though," he warned.

"Of course." Light smiled, tension gone. Above them, Rem dove from the side of the building. A regiment of helmeted men in flak suits headed for them from the buildings surrounding the headquarter entrance, presumably on L's signal as the man realized what was happening.

"Rem's here!" Misa informed Light, not wanting to let him go.

Light nodded, attention on the policemen. "Now, Misa!"

Still indecisive, Misa looked to Ryuk. "I renounce my death note."

LxLxL

Misa's body slumped against Light. Prepared for the effects of her sudden memory loss, Light caught her almost gently. Picking her up, he handed her into Rem's care, trusting that the shinigami would do as planned. Misa was lifted from his arms and hovered there.

Rem gave Light a last piercing look and took into the air once more. From the police came sounds of alarm and confusion as Misa's unconscious body apparently flew into the air on its own. By the time they thought to fire, she was too far away for their bullets to penetrate Rem and hit her.

While they were distracted with that, Light handed his own note discreetly to Ryuk, and the shinigami flew away with a laugh at the whole scene.

As the men recovered and surrounded Light to arrest him, he feigned shock equal to theirs and tried to appear terrified and confused. Forced to his knees by the police, he looked to the ground and felt a smirk curl his mouth where no one could see. Let's see what happens now, L. Your move.

LxLxL

The jocular aura in headquarters as the men watched Misa run up to Light had taken a distinct turn for the worse. No one but L had shown any alarm when Rem left the two to take wing and head for the control room, but as soon as Rem reached through the glass case guarding the captured death note and took it the detective was speaking orders into his computer. Chief Yagami had demanded what he was doing- especially when the policemen that he hadn't requested arrived on the scene and headed for his son.

"Ryuuzaki! What is the meaning of this?" he snapped, trying to remain terse rather than shouting but finding it increasingly difficult as Amane disappeared into the distance and his son was pushed to his knees with his fingers laced calmly on his head. "What did that monster do with Amane-san?"

"..." Eyes still on the screen, Ryuuzaki had paused with a bite of cake almost to his mouth. Setting the fork down with the bite unfinished, L ignored the police chief's question to speak to Watari again. "Tell them not to hurt him, and that I want him confined." Watari replied affirmatively, and L sat back in his crouch with a sigh. Finally, he turned his gaze to chief Yagami. "...Your son is Kira. Amane is the second Kira. The shinigami loves her, and Kira tricked her into escaping with our only evidence."

"Her?" Matsuda asked, blinking and staring at the screen, though Rem was long gone. "That monster was a she?" Aizawa hit him, nodding toward chief Yagami and telling him with a look to get serious. Rubbing his head, Matsuda nodded sheepishly.

Body tense and face tight, chief Yagami watched L severely. "This isn't a joke, L. You've had a vendetta against my son since you met him. What evidence do you have that you didn't have before?"

"...Nothing concrete," Ryuuzaki admitted, shoulders slumping slightly as he gazed at the screen. "Last night, I informed Light-kun that Wedy had obtained footage of Amane writing in a death note, and that I knew he was Kira. He wouldn't have believed me, but Rem forced him to move... She thinks of Amane like a daughter and attempted to kill Watari and myself when I told her there were no other witnesses."

There were indrawn breaths and gasps, and chief Yagami swayed slightly in shock. "How did you survive?"

"Section nine..." Aizawa breathed, and Ryuuzaki looked to him with interest, nodding subtly. Chief Yagami furrowed his brow at his detective, and Aizawa straightened, explaining. "In the rules for the death note. One allowed someone to survive the death note if their name was written, misspelled four times. I thought it only meant the one death note, but that must mean the notes are connected somehow."

Ryuuzaki nodded, thoughtful. "Very good, Aizawa-san. I was also hoping that that was the case. Light-kun distracted me while Rem wrote the names, and both expressed surprise when I remained alive. I convinced Light to bring Amane in today to retrieve her death note and take her into custody."

Chief Yagami sank into his computer chair, trying to find some loophole to save his son. "Why didn't you show us the tape...?" he asked, raising his head from his hands to spear Ryuuzaki with an accusing stare.

"..." Ryuuzaki reached to his plate, finishing the bite of cake. "There is no tape," he announced simply. "I was bluffing. I felt that my life was in imminent danger and that if I could force Light-kun to give up his memories again or to come to you and confess, my life would be spared."

Chief Yagami gaped at his gall, but Aizawa leaned forward intently, hands clasped loosely. "Why were you afraid for your life? You'd already written your name by that point, hadn't you?"

Ryuuzaki nodded, taking another bite of cake. "I had, but as I mentioned, I was not certain that my life would be protected. It was merely a precaution in case Light, at some point in the future, acquired another death note. Rem's attempt on my life was unexpected... and also, in this case, beneficial to our investigation."

Looking as if he'd aged twenty years in the last few minutes, chief Yagami dragged his hands over his face and took a shaking breath. "Ryuuzaki. You're certain that my son is Kira? All you lack is the evidence...?"

Nodding, L paused, turning his gaze to chief Yagami cautiously. "He had given up his memories before, and only regained them with Higuchi's death, I believe. With the situation as it stands, he could claim he isn't Kira, and was only helping Amane and Rem because I fooled him into thinking her life was forfeit." Glumly, he moved some crumbs into a bit of frosting on the plate. "He only showed his nature to me, and asked that he be allowed to tell you his identity as Kira. That was before this situation, obviously, but... if I convinced him the cell has no cameras, maybe, I could..." trailing off without much hope, he set his fork down.

"That won't be necessary," chief Yagami intoned gravely. Standing, he bowed slightly to his coworkers and to L, keeping his head down. "I deeply regret what my son has become," he told them, voice thick with control. "Resolving this lies with me, and me alone. He can not be allowed to go free again and continue his plans..." He bowed more deeply, then straightened stiffly and went for the door. "L, I need to know where Light is being held." His hand went briefly to his gun, as though reassuring himself.

Matsuda gaped, making as if to stand, but Aizawa caught his arm and shook his head slightly, watching his chief. Mogi had a sheen of tears in his eyes, and L had spun his chair slowly about to study chief Yagami. He seemed as calm and collected as always, but his hands where they rested on his knees were digging into his jeans, and his toes appeared to be clinging to the chair cushion for balance. "That's a noble gesture, Yagami-san, but is it really necessary? I'm sure due process will ensure Light-kun's ending..."

Control slipping, chief Yagami's hands clenched, the muscles in his neck standing out. "I will decide what to do with my son!" he shouted. Catching himself, he drew in another broken breath and turned his back to the detectives. "...Forgive me. Where, Ryuuzaki?"

"...His old containment cell," L replied evenly. Nodding tersely, the man left.

Spinning around immediately and ignoring all attempts to talk to him, Ryuuzaki contacted Watari. "Watari, retrieve Yagami-kun and take him to the roof. I'll be waiting with the chopper. Knock Kira out if you need to, it will make things easier. Now!"

Aizawa moved to follow when L stood, but L stopped immediately and looked to him. The detective's calm demeanor had slipped, and there was a tense agitation about him. For the first time in his life, he was making plans without thinking them through. Hesitating, Aizawa studied him. "Where will you be taking him?"

"Away," L responded curtly.

"You will be returning him in to the police when the chief calms down?" Aizawa questioned, never having fully come to trust L.

L hesitated, then widened his eyes slightly. "What reason would I have to keep him?" he asked. Letting that be his answer, he hurried for the door, moving faster than the other detectives could remember seeing from him in anything short of a fight.

LxLxL

L slid into the driver's seat in his helicopter, and as he was reaching for the first buttons to turn it on the side door slid open and Kira was dropped into the seat. He slumped unconsciously toward L, a growing bruise on his temple testament to Watari's acceptance of the use of excessive force in getting Kira to cooperate with the move.

Watari secured the murderer into the seat with the seatbelt and put handcuffs on his wrists in case he woke in-flight.

With that efficiently accomplished, Watari looked to L solemnly. "Are you bringing him back?"

"..." Looking from Watari to Kira, L hesitated with his fingers above the ignition switches. "...I don't think I am. He would be killed, or imprisoned."

Nodding brusquely at that assessment, the old man stepped back, giving Kira's straps a final tug and tossing the handcuff key to L. "I can't go with you, L," he stated calmly. Taking a breath, he met his protégé's eyes, his accustomed air of calm strength wavering in grief. "He isn't like Aiber or Wedy. He's killed thousands of people, and you should leave him for the law to handle."

Absorbing this, L looked from Kira to Watari, torn. "...How long?" he asked quietly.

"I'll give you three days' start on Near and Mello," Watari informed him tiredly. "That should give you plenty of time to pick up your money and go into hiding. L... is he really worth it? You've worked for this position for years."

Ignoring the question, L reached for the switches again. "...You should step back," he informed Watari. He studied the buttons. "...Thank you for all of your help. I... regret that I won't be able to speak with you anymore. Give Mello or Near my congratulations on their advancement."

Watari held out his hand, and L looked from it to Watari before cautiously accepting the handshake. Watari opened his mouth as if to say something else, tightened his grip on L's hand, and seemed to think better of it. "Good luck, L," he told the younger man quietly. Turning, he headed for the door in case chief Yagami found his way to the roof.

Staring after his surrogate father for a moment, L reluctantly stirred. He flicked a few switches, took hold of the steering mechanism, and guided the helicopter into the sky with only an unconscious murderer for companionship.

* * *

Man, this chapter had a lot of snags- I kept getting to certain points in all of the twists where things would stop working and I'd have to give up for half an hour and just think about it. I figured any plan that I could think of in half an hour to an hour was reasonable for Light or L to think up in a few seconds. Also, I've always really admired Aizawa, though not his hair, so I wanted to give him a few lines.

Anyway, yeah. Kansas City Shuffle is by J. Ralph, and was featured on Lucky # Slevin, which is a wonderful good movie. Next chapter is the epilogue, and then I'll be posting the sequel... You'll have a week at least before you need to deal with my real-time updates, lovelies.

Comment responses:

Megan-taichou: Thank you!

MiaoShou: The stripping ffnet does is so aggravating! But aside from that, yesss, I did have to resist that temptation. I actually had a shower scene planned, then stopped and thought about it and couldn't make myself write it because it didn't feel right with the story. This is more angst, but it works, I think.

Bob da Peach: Sorry! I only recently read all of the manga series but I'd already known most of what happened in that as well... fanfics really are bad that way. Hope the story wasn't too confusing then- I wrote it assuming people had access to what happened in the whole series.

SoraXNamine: That makes me happy then!

onlytomriddle: I'm glad you reviewed, then! I try to keep them as close to canon as possible while still going with the plot and the situations they end up facing. I love nit-picking details in things. Arigatou, ganbaru!

SasuneUchiha: Kira's nuts, that's how. Fun to write though, the god-complex. Thanks for replying!

Deliciously Tormented: Updated! I didn't read anything after manga seven for... over a year. I actually only finished the rest a few weeks ago because of my sequel and needing to know how some other chars act and interact. Putting time between myself and manga 7 enabled me to actually read it without just wanting to maim Raito.

SonokoTao: Your review made me laugh. I noticed that too! It's like L decided, "Oh well, Yagami-san screamed when he saw the shinigami, so maybe it's genetic." Wtf? First thing I'd have done if I were L is grab the notebook back and see if the screaming stopped. Then hand it back to him. If he kept screaming, question answered.

baka coconut: Will do!

kittyluck13: I'm glad you're enjoying it then!

Expo: Nope, he won't feel an overwhelming sense of emptiness and plummet from his chair. His plan like... 90% worked!

Museteki: Thanks!


	10. Epilogue : Sympathy for the Devil

Chapter The Last: Sympathy for the Devil

Disclaimer: Death Note =/= mine. Volume 7 would have gone a liiittle bit differently.

Rating: R

Pairings: Kira / L

Warning(s): Contains spoilers for the manga through chapter 7, and some characters beyond that.

Comment: Thanks for staying with me this far! Here's the epilogue with all its shortness, and then we're zooming along to the sequel.

* * *

Kira woke slowly, cataloguing his surroundings with his eyes closed. The sheets on the mattress beneath him were unfamiliar and there was a throbbing pain in his temple. On top of that, there was some naggingly familiar sensation that was irritating him in the back of his mind.

He opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the lights in the room spiking agony through his skull. He imagined this must be something close to the symptoms of a hangover, if hangovers could be caused by an elderly man bashing the butt of a gun into your skull. Why Watari had chosen to do that when he'd already agreed to come along with the man was a mystery that Kira hoped to resolve soon.

From what he could see by stubbornly wincing his eyes open, he must be in a hotel room- it lacked the clean lines of L's building, and there were the generic prints on the visible wall and re-circulated scent of every hotel he'd ever been to.

Turning his head slightly, he discovered without much surprise that L was crouched on the bed beside him, watching. That explained the irritation he'd been experiencing at least; Light had woken too many mornings to that to not be sensitized to the detective's gaze. He glared at the older man, expecting answers.

"Ah. Good, Kira-kun is awake," L commented blandly. "I was worried. Catching our flight would be more difficult if Kira-kun were still unconscious."

Kira cautiously lifted a hand to probe at his temple, nearly blacking out again and breathing carefully through the pain. _Well, that could have been planned better_, he decided wryly. "Flight? Where are we going? This doesn't seem like the situation that would lead to a trial, or me being executed..." he trailed off in a frown at a more pressing question. "Why did Watari knock me unconscious?"

"...Hmm... that would be..." L studied the decidedly uninteresting ceiling. "Most likely, because he expected I would be doing what I am doing now. It would have been easier to simply threaten you and push you in front of him, but perhaps knocking you out was more satisfying?" he mused. "You _have_ killed thousands."

Attention sharpening at L's words, Kira narrowed his eyes at L. "And what are you doing now...?"

"...Saving Kira's life..." L admitted. He hunched in on himself a bit more, chin lying against his knees and hands curled defensively in the material of his loose jeans. His dark eyes betrayed nothing, but Light had been with L for too long not to be able to read the tension and uncertainty in the detective. Was L regretting his decision, or...? It felt like he was missing a crucial piece of information.

Kira probed the bruise at his temple again and found he could bear the pain with preparation. Very cautiously, he leaned up on one elbow. "And why," he asked shortly, "would you want to do that?" He controlled his breathing and ignored his mild waves of nausea. What was L thinking? If he'd gotten a concussion from this...

"...Kira-kun asks a very good question," L responded softly. The tone brought Kira's eyes to him again and Kira frowned slightly at a flicker of what had seemed like misery in the man's black gaze.

"Explain," Kira commanded, not liking this situation at all. There was too much uncertainty in it and he couldn't tell if he was still being monitored by the other detectives or not. _What game is he playing at now?_

"If Kira-kun doesn't know why I would save his life, why would I?" L asked, and beneath his flat tone was some emotion Kira couldn't quite discern. Bitterness? Self-disgust? Or just the usual mockery? He wondered what had happened to have L acting so... human.

Kira snorted, sitting up fully and getting a good look at the room for the first time. The hotel didn't seem to be as high-class as L's normal tastes and Kira considered the possible reasons. They had left in a hurry, and L was acting on limited funds? Or he simply wanted to keep a low profile, using this as a temporary location to rest before they caught their flight? He frowned at that. "Ryuuzaki, where are we flying to? And why? Misa and her notebook are gone, and your evidence isn't directly against me. I was trying to save her life, but I still protest you calling me Kira. I'd rather take my chances with a trial than whatever you're planning."

"...Kira-kun can call me L, now," L stated. Noticing Kira studying the room and apparently guessing at his thoughts, L curled his toes. "Upon my assertion that Light-kun is indeed Kira but that you had once more avoided having evidence against you, Yagami-san came to the decision to kill Kira and, possibly, himself. I was not thinking as clearly as normal, but ordered Watari to take you to the roof, where I planned to fly you to safety in the helicopter."

"Safety far enough away to require a plane flight?" Kira asked wryly. "You're still not making any sense, Ryuu-... L. This seems more like one of your attempts to get me to confess to being Kira. Why would you try to save me for a few hours, knowing that if I'm convicted of being Kira I'll receive a death sentence?"

"...I also wondered that, on my way to the roof. I decided that... I did not want Light-kun to die, even if it meant allowing the murderer, Kira, to live. And the only way to allow Kira to live would be to travel with you and take you to safety. Having assisted your escape, I would already be breaking the law and risking my own standing."

Beginning to worry that L was serious, Kira let his hand drop from his temple to study the older man. "...You're lying to yourself, L," he pointed out. L blinked at him. "You don't only want me to live. You find Kira interesting as well. Saving the one you think of as Kira means that, if you're not approving of Kira's murders, you're still accepting that Kira's life means more to you than thousands of normal citizens. I didn't think you were that sort of person..." he observed, arching an eyebrow at the detective and standing cautiously. "I can't picture you being moved by something like emotions, but winning our game just by allowing my father to kill me would be boring, wouldn't it?"

L turned his head to watch Kira more easily. "'Our game'... Light-kun admits to being Kira, now?"

"...This situation doesn't add up," Kira evaded, looking to the curtained windows. "I am beginning to believe you. But that doesn't mean you wouldn't continue to build evidence against me in case you regretted your change in sides later and wanted to keep an escape open. And this hotel room... Why hasn't Watari arranged everything for us already? We shouldn't be waiting in a cheap room, we should be on some private flight, escaping, until I can find a way to get away from you. That would be your thinking, correct?"

"Life will be harder for Light-kun if he escapes," L commented mildly. "...In three days' time, Watari will inform my successor, trained for years to follow me, and they will have Watari's assistance in capturing us both. I have no doubt that they will release information on Kira and on Amane-san to the media at that time, or soon after."

Kira turned on L in aggravation, glaring. "You left them Watari? You can't be that stupid- he has footage of both of us, all of the Kira investigation notes, and our names. Do we even have money, places to stay...?" He snorted. "Honestly, I'd have been better off risking my father."

"Kira is welcome to go back if he believes that," L deadpanned. "I have many bank accounts, and we will collect the funds from several over the next three days. I do not wish to leave L's position lacking in funds, and Watari's assets will be untouched."

Realizing he'd allowed his brow to furrow and his face to twist in annoyance, Kira took a breath to calm himself. He dropped into one of the room's chairs with a conscious grace, not liking the thought of sitting on the bed with his enemy and questionable ally. "You're giving us too many ridiculous rules, L," he accused. "If they're our enemies now, we should act while we can to secure our own positions and unbalance theirs. We have three days' head start on them; I should think two of the most intelligent minds in the world can at least create a working plan for our future."

"I also believe this," L agreed. "However, my rules stay." He paused, and his dark eyes bored into Kira. "...Kira-kun, I need an honest answer. What happened to Amane-san's notebook?"

Kira arched an eyebrow. "You expect me to admit to something like that? I still don't trust you. Besides, Rem's notebook was Misa's. I simply found a way for Rem to return to her and for them both to escape. If Misa is smart enough, she might even be able to stay alive for a while, which should provide us with some distraction and confusion when the new L chases us. Do you know who your successor is?" he asked off-handedly. At any moment, Ryuk could find him, and if he could get a name and picture on their tracker they wouldn't have any concerns.

"I believe that Watari, according to my wishes, will choose a boy called Near to follow me. You will find no information nor pictures on him, if that is what you are after."

"A boy?" Kira asked, sitting up straight. "You're that concerned about a half-trained child?" he asked, working to keep the derision from his tone. He frowned. "If someone like you is concerned, he must be remarkable, but even so..."

"If Near works together with my second option, I believe that together they could equal at least one of us in thinking," L responded evenly. "They are still learning, but Near is impressive, and together they will pose us a challenge. Not to mention, they will have the assets and connections of Watari, and will be working with the NPA and with your father and his detectives against us. We will have to move often and remain in low profile."

"That goes without saying, of course..." Kira frowned slightly, steepling his fingers and resting his chin on them as his gaze unfocused. He still didn't believe that even L's successors could prove a terrible challenge to the both of them, but they could certainly get in his way. Especially with the assets the two new players would have at their disposal, while Kira and L were being forced to flee. The whole idea was frustrating. His plans had been perfectly laid; if L hadn't experimented by writing his own name in the death note none of this would be a concern right now.

"...Kira-kun is upset that his plans fell apart, and that I am still alive," L hazarded.

Gaze flicking to the detective quickly, Kira schooled his expression too late to completely hide his surprise. "Why would you say that?"

"This situation is troublesome for Kira-kun. If I had died, you would have had a much easier path in ruling the world."

"...What's strange is that you realize that, yet you still saved me," Kira commented, studying the bizarre man across from him. The idea that he might have someone with whom he could discuss being Kira openly was one he would approach with caution. L would still become one of his pieces to move, but he was much more self-aware of his place in the game than Misa had been; getting the man to make the moves Kira wanted to save them both might be tricky.

"..." L kept his focus on the carpet rather than on Kira and spoke without inflection. "In the end, I couldn't bear for Light-kun or Kira-kun to die. When faced with a world that would not hold him in it, I found it to be less interesting. Even if it means that Kira won for now, I decided that it would be better to save his life." He turned his head to gaze at Kira. "...I can still renounce my decision at a later time and give you up to the police if I regret my choice."

Kira's eyes gleamed at this revelation and he sat back with satisfaction. Poised on the drab hotel chair like a king on his throne, he smirked at the world famous detective curled on the bed as his piece fell into place. _I can't kill him with my death note if he disobeys, but threats probably wouldn't work on L in any case. Still, there are many ways to control others, and he's proven himself to have emotions and to want me alive. I can use that._ "You're wrong, L. My victory won't be temporary, and there's no way that you'll turn on me. My luck has always gone this way... I will become the god of a new world, and you'll be at my side to see it through."

L's thin fingers gripped his knees tightly while his face remained blank. In his eyes was the knowledge of the airplane tickets he had purchased and the fact that in a few days there really would be no turning back.

* * *

Sympathy for the Devil is by the Rolling Stones. I love that song.

The sequel is called Tear You Apart; I'll be putting it up starting in the next two days as per usual. I've got five chapters on it, so you're all safe for at least ten days!

Comment responses:

Wow! Fifteen people replied to the last chapter! I'm very happy.

Impervious Marr: Very soon, don't worry!

MiaoShou: I've been having a hard time thinking of a happy ending myself! I'm five chapters into the sequel and still don't really know what I'm doing yet. I'm working on it, though... Thank you! L would hate being called 'romantic' I think.

LiathRain: Thanks! Will try.

SoraXNamine: Did so! I need to have L and Watari talk again later at some point, hmm...

SonokoTao: "Oh snap yes!" cracked me up, I love that phrase. (Mostly because Dr. House used it at one point...) You know, I tried and tried to imagine them working together- I have one event that would make them actually do it. Maybe. Possibly. Probably not. Yay for unpredictability and flying Misa! I get the feeling those police officers needed therapy afterward...

Deliciously Tormented: Hmm... I'm trying to remember in the series the last time Light ever showed that he even had senses to come back to... maybe in the first chapter of the manga? Kira's stubborness is fun, but with he and L, man...! Finding an ending is hard.

Lady AliPotter: You're welcome! I don't think Kira went truly evil until the end of the manga, by which point he was totally nutballs. Thank you so much though! I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far.

Amorpheous: You made me giggle. I didn't mean to explode your brain! This chapter really doesn't help with suspense, hmm... In this fic, they pretty much are- they blur at the edges now though, and Light wouldn't be able to take over Kira's body or anything. He more just acts as the focus of Kira's subconscious trying to needle Kira to act like he has an emotional center and not just focus on the domination of the world thing.

dreamsofpalmtrees: Thanks!

lil bishi hunter: Wow, that's quite a compliment! Thank you very much. I think my writing got better toward the end, but I'm enjoying my sequel more- some of the writing in this arc makes me wince a little... hmm. Anyway, thank you again!

Bob Da Peach: I'm trying! Let me know if the sequel sucks...

Shadowsole: Glad you like it! I think I threw everyone a little off-balance with it...!

Azh Hikari: I usually post on AFF first, and they rarely reply, so the response here makes me very happy...! It feels like a lot of reviews to me. Thank you, though!

mjhjhji: Aww, I like my summary. More like I can't think what else to say. "Keeps mostly to canon with a little gay sex and then blows up your brain"? See, doesn't work. Thanks, though! Honestly, I wouldn't know what else to say...

mornir-brightflame: Thanks for your review! I love when people mention specific things they like. I usually like Chief Yagami, just because he's... about the only morally upstanding character in the series, so that interests me. His trying to take matters into his own hands could be irritating, but just makes me roll my eyes at him. He tries so hard... And yes, I was talking about the afro! I love Aizawa's hair in the later arc, after L's death, but in the beginning...! Yeesh, it didn't suit his head. Thanks again!

yellowrose87: Ah! I had all the responses typed and then you commented. Thank you though! I messed the rule up worse than that- if you misspell a name four times deliberately, you're killed. So L'd technically be dead... Guh. I didn't know it at the time of writing it though, and I'm still stumped about how to fix it. I might revise the last chapter later if I can come up with some likely BS. I suppose in this universe of the story, the rule works the way I read it first, for now... I'm dissatisfied with my answer, I'm sorry!


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